Aurora State Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Aurora, Oregon 97002
Wednesday, August 14, 2013 14:00 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that during the landing roll, the airplane encountered a wind gust from the right, which caused the airplane to weathervane to the right. He said that due to the airplane's slow speed, left rudder was ineffective, and by the time he applied left brake the airplane had ground-looped. The left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control while landing in gusting wind conditions, which resulted in a ground-loop.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/14/2013
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Aurora
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97002
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 451429N
Event Location Longitude 1224607W
Event Location Airport AURORA STATE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID UAO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport --
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 170
Airport Elevation 200
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 6000
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) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 20
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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) 31988
NTSB Notification Source NW Mountain
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 8 2013 5:57PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6939K
NTSB Number WPR13CA372
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 PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-20
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 20-43
Certified Max Gross Weight 1800
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 21 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3750
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name CSIZMAZIA JOSEPH
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City UNDERWOOD
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98651
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name CSIZMAZIA JOSEPH
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City UNDERWOOD
Operator State WA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 98651
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
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 --
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 4S2
Departure City Hood River
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1320
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code UAO
Destination City Aurora
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 8 2013 5:58PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 5004
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --