Portland-Mulino Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mulino, Oregon 97013
Saturday, November 29, 2008 12:36 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot had recently purchased the amateur-built experimental airplane and received operating limitations from the Federal Aviation Administration for flight testing of the airplane. On the day of the accident, the pilot first performed taxi tests and then began taking off, climbing to about 10 feet above the ground, reducing power and landing back on the runway. The pilot completed a few of these runs and then taxied back onto the runway for another run. He advanced the throttle and noted that the tachometer only went to 4,000 rpm. The airplane lifted off the runway and climbed to about 150 feet above the ground. The pilot said it would not "climb higher or speed up." The airspeed was reading about 45 to 50 knots. The pilot started looking for a place to land and seeing obstacles ahead and to the left, he executed a shallow right turn back towards the airfield. The airplane stalled without notice and the pilot was not able to recover prior to ground impact. The airplane came to rest in a nose down position in a flat grassy field. The engine was displaced rearward, and the forward portion of the fuselage was crushed and compressed aft. The pilot reported that he had accumulated 240.7 hours total flight time of which 0 hours were in the accident make and model airplane. Following the accident, the propeller was found to be in "high pitch preventing the engine from turning up to more than 4,000 rpm, limiting the horsepower."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to attain an adequate airspeed that resulted in a stall/mush during the initial climb. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's lack of experience in this make and model airplane and the improper adjustment of the propeller pitch.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/29/2008
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1236
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Mulino
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97013
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 451259N
Event Location Longitude 1223525W
Event Location Airport Portland-Mulino
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 4S9
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 260
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1253 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID UAO
Elevation of weather observation facility 200
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.43
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 25296
NTSB Notification Source FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 27 2009 6:04PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N825PB
NTSB Number WPR09LA052
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Adkins
Aircraft Model Ridge Runner II
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 722811
Certified Max Gross Weight 950
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Aug 31 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 8
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Tony J. Epperson
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Tacoma
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98408
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Tony J. Epperson
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Tacoma
Operator State WA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 98408
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 4S9
Departure City Mulino
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1235
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 4S9
Destination City Mulino
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 27 2009 6:02PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 32
Runway Length 3425
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --