Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Hobby Field - Creswell Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Creswell, Oregon 97426
Sunday, August 23, 2009 16:25 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Shortly after the airplane with a glider in tow departed, witnesses reported that it appeared that the glider overtook the tow airplane. One witness stated it appeared that the glider moved ahead of the tow airplane as the tow airplane descended. The witness reported that the accident airplane appeared to be slow and, approximately 200 feet above the ground, abruptly nosed over and impacted terrain. The student pilot of the glider reported that the takeoff roll, lift off and climb to 200 feet was normal. He stated that shortly after the glider reached 200 feet he heard a loud bang and glanced over his right should to find the rear door unlatched. As he looked back he noted that the glider was now above the normal tow position. The glider pilot pushed the stick forward to maneuver the glider to the proper tow position. The glider pilot noted slack in the tow line, and stated the tow airplane descended below the glider to a point where he lost sight of the airplane. He stated that the tow airplane did not seem to be in distress or out of control, and appeared to be in a 10 degree nose-down attitude prior to release. The glider pilot released from the tow airplane, turned 180 degrees back towards the airport, and landed without further incident. He stated that the release felt normal; the glider did not pitch up or down, and no abnormal yaw was noted. Examination of the tow airplane tail hook assembly revealed that the mounting plate was bent upward and the heads of two connecting bolts were in contact with the base of the rudder. The tail hook was intact and remained attached to the mounting plate. The hook was in the locked position, closed around the tow ring. The release cable remained attached to the hook and was continuous to the cockpit release handle. Functional testing of the tail hook assembly revealed no anomalies, and the assembly functioned appropriately. Examination revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunction or failure with the engine or airframe. Toxicology testing indicated the presence of marijuana in the tow pilot's blood and lung tissue. The levels of marijuana noted in the toxicology report suggest use of the illegal drug within 3 hours of the accident, which likely impaired him during the flight.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during takeoff for a glider tow operation. Contributing to the accident were the tow pilot's impairment due to marijuana use and the low altitude of the flight that reduced the time available to recover from an upset.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/23/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1625 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Creswell |
| Event State | OREGON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 97426 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 435629N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1230029W |
| Event Location Airport | Hobby Field Airport - Creswell |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 77S |
| 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 | 538 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1554 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 300 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KEUG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 374 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 8500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 10 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 16 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.02 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KEUG 232254Z 01012G16KT 10SM FEW085 24/07 A3002 |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 27455 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA NW Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 20 2010 12:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6353Z |
| NTSB Number | WPR09FA414 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-25 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 25-468 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 29 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2955 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | SCOTTY AIR LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2283 MINNESOTA ST |
| Aircraft Owner City | EUGENE |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97402-1050 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Scotty Air LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Eugene |
| Operator State | OR |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 97402 |
| 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) | Glider Tow |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 77S |
| Departure City | Creswell |
| Departure State | OR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1630 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 77S |
| Destination City | Creswell |
| Destination State | OR |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 16 2010 8:21PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 33 |
| Runway Length | 3101 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |