Sportsman Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Newberg, Oregon 97132
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 14:30 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he leveled the experimental, amateur-built airplane in cruise flight and gripped the control stick with his legs in order to free his hands to perform some aerial photography. The pilot had done the same thing on previous flights, and he was aware that the airplane had a tendency to pitch down and accelerate when not monitored and controlled continuously. After he took some photographs, he grasped the stick with one hand and applied back pressure to reduce the airspeed. While attempting to stow the camera, he inadvertently let go of the control stick, and the airplane descended and accelerated again. Although the control stick was free to move, the pilot was unable to correct the flight path with the elevator, and he deployed the ballistic recovery parachute, and retarded the engine to idle. The airplane impacted terrain nose-first and sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any preimpact anomalies or failures. The pilot reported that after the accident, he learned it was necessary to retard the throttle in order to successfully recover from a dive.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper recovery from a dive, which resulted in a loss of control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/22/2010
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Newberg
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97132
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 451532N
Event Location Longitude 1225620W
Event Location Airport Sportsman Airpark
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 2S6
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 3
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 181
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 100
Weather Observation Facility ID UAO
Elevation of weather observation facility 200
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4400
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 9
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.84
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 28071
NTSB Notification Source FAA Northwest Mountain ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 24 2011 2:33PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7008Z
NTSB Number WPR11CA079
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 Moyes Bailey
Aircraft Model Microlite
Aircraft Series Identifier Dragonfly
Aircraft Serial Number 046
Certified Max Gross Weight 660
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 Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Oct 3 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 300
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91
Aircraft Owner Name Robert McFee
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Beaverton
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97006
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name Holger Andreas Stephan
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Lake Oswego
Operator State OR
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 97034
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 2S6
Departure City Newberg
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 7S9
Destination City Hubbard
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 24 2011 2:33PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --