Sandy River Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sandy, Oregon 97055
Friday, August 28, 2009 12:15 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The wind was calm as the pilot approached the airport's 2,115-foot-long Runway 26 and attempted to land. The pilot stated that he terminated his first two approaches to the runway because he was too fast and too high. In part, this event was due to "obstacles" in proximity to the approach end of the runway. The Federal Aviation Administration's "Airport Facility Directory" indicates that the closest obstacle to the runway's approach end is located 115 feet from the runway's extended centerline. During the pilot's third attempted landing, he was also too high and too fast but he decided to land anyway. The airplane touched down long, overran the departure end, impacted vines, and nosed over. According to the pilot, there was no mechanical malfunction with his airplane and the accident could have been prevented had he made a go-around.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's decision to continue the landing rather than execute a go-around. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain proper airspeed and altitude during the approach.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/28/2009
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1215
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Sandy
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97055
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 452407N
Event Location Longitude 1221343W
Event Location Airport Sandy River
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 03S
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 704
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 26151
NTSB Notification Source NM 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 Dec 8 2009 10:28AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2218K
NTSB Number WPR09CA424
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name SILVAIRE
Aircraft Model LUSCOMBE 8A
Aircraft Series Identifier 8A
Aircraft Serial Number 4945
Certified Max Gross Weight 1260
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 10 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 21
Airframe Hours 2857
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name CANHAM JESSE W
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City WOODBURN
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97071-2143
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name CANHAM JESSE W
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Woodburn
Operator State OR
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 97071
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 No
Departure Airport Code 7S9
Departure City Hubbard
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1150
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 03S
Destination City Sandy
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 2 2009 12:09PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 26
Runway Length 2115
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --