Kaiser's Strip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Albany, Oregon 97322
Sunday, August 28, 2011 13:45 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that a few minutes after takeoff, he heard a loud noise and felt a vibration when an aluminum propeller blade separated from the airplane. The pilot then made a forced landing on a grass field north of the departure airport. The MT-Propeller two-bladed propeller hub, separated blade, and fracture surfaces were examined. The examination revealed finely spaced striations consistent with high-cycle fatigue. The hub wall had fatigue cracks initiating from shallow oxidized pits. Evidence of rework or repair was found on the hub blade bore. The propeller logbook reported that the hub was repaired and inspected by a repair station and reinstalled by the pilot/owner 3 days before the accident flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The in-flight separation of a propeller blade due to fatigue.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/28/2011
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1345
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Albany
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97322
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 443925N
Event Location Longitude 1230310W
Event Location Airport Kaiser's Strip
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 221
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 --
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 30787
NTSB Notification Source ANM 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 17 2013 7:15PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N642DW
NTSB Number WPR11LA412
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 --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name WHEELER
Aircraft Model VANS RV-6A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 22286
Certified Max Gross Weight 1800
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 5 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 114
Airframe Hours 309
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name WHEELER DEAN S
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City LEBANON
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97355-9232
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name WHEELER DEAN S
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City LEBANON
Operator State OR
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 97355-9232
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 S12
Departure City Albany
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1341
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code S12
Destination City Albany
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 17 2013 8:18PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 30
Runway Length 1600
Runway Width 20
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --