Arlington Municipal Airport: Arlington, Oregon

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The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to practice touch-and-go landings. During the takeoff portion of a touch-and-go, about midway down the runway, the engine lost power. The pilot initiated a gentle left turn towards a vacant taxiway to initiate a forced landing. The pilot landed hard just short of the taxiway. The left wing was wrinkled, and the nose wheel and left main landing gear collapsed. The pilot stated that he had the incorrect fuel tank selected, and "the engine lost power due to fuel starvation." He also stated that prior to takeoff, one fuel tank had "little to no fuel" and "the other fuel tank was about half full." The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the engine or airframe prior to the accident.
Updated at Oct 20 2009 1:50PM
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As he was preparing to land, the contract pilot, who was positioning the airplane at the destination airport for minor maintenance, inadvertently set one number incorrectly when he initially set in the common traffic advisory frequency. After transmitting his position/intent four times, and hearing no other aircraft on the radio (including one that he saw on the runway), he realized that his frequency was not set correctly. He therefore set in the correct frequency. About the time he was resetting the frequency, he lowered the flaps to full, but inadvertently forgot to lower the landing gear. As he continued on around the pattern, he became "preoccupied" with the aircraft that was on the runway, and did not notice that the gear was not extended. He subsequently landed with the gear retracted, resulting in substantial damage to the belly stringers and bulkheads. The pilot reported that there were no anomalies associated with any of the airplane's systems.
Updated at Sep 10 2009 5:35PM
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The purpose of the flight was to re-familiarize the front seat pilot, who was a perspective buyer, with the tailwheel-equipped airplane. The owner of the airplane, who was also a rated pilot, occupied the rear seat. During the landing roll on runway 16, the front seat pilot noted that the airplane started to veer to the right. The rear seat pilot took control of the airplane and added power attempting to go-around. The airplane exited the runway as it continued to veer to the right and became airborne after striking a knoll adjacent to the runway. Subsequently, the left wing struck the ground and the airplane landed hard and impacted the concrete windsock segmented circle. Examination of the airplane revealed that the fuselage and wings were structurally damaged. The rear seat pilot reported no anomalies with the flight control system or engine. Recorded weather data revealed that 12 minutes prior to the accident, the wind was from 330-degrees at 5
knots.
Updated at Nov 10 2008 4:55PM
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After a 15-minute glider flight, the pilot entered the traffic pattern for a planned full-stop landing on a grass airstrip that ran adjacent to the active paved runway. He then extended his downwind leg in order to create a greater clearance between himself and a powered airplane that was landing on the paved runway. After rolling out on base leg, the pilot realized that he had extended his downwind leg too far to reach the grass strip under the gusting wind conditions. He therefore decided to land in a field short of the grass runway. While maneuvering to land in that field, he failed to maintain clearance from a nearby tree. After the wing of the glider hit the tree, it cart-wheeled into the field, and sustained wrinkling and crushing damage to both wings and fuselage.
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The student pilot reported that during the takeoff roll on runway 34, the airplane was buffeted by a gust of wind and it yawed to the left. He applied full opposite rudder control; however, the airplane veered off the runway. After the airplane exited the runway, the right main landing gear leg collapsed and the airplane came to rest adjacent to the runway. The student pilot stated that the winds at the time of the accident were from 280 degrees at 11 knots. No mechanical failures or malfunctions were reported.
Updated at Jun 11 2009 4:55PM
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While the amateur-built airplane was on the base leg of the traffic pattern at the destination airport, the pilot advanced the throttle forward. The engine did not respond and subsequently lost power. The pilot decided to land in a field below and the airplane nosed over during the landing roll. According to the pilot, the engine had a history of losing power as a result of air entering the fuel system. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane and stated that postaccident manipulation of the cockpit throttle control revealed that the throttle cable outer housing would slip out of the throttle quadrant and as a consequence the throttle arm on the engine fuel body would not move. It could not be determined if this discrepancy was a result of the impact. No evidence of any other mechanical discrepancies were noted with the engine.
Updated at Apr 16 2009 8:35AM
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The pilot was in the process of aligning the aircraft to enter the downwind for landing when he decided that there were too many aircraft in the pattern and that he would maneuver to the west of the field until the number of aircraft practicing landings was reduced. As he turned away from the airport, he reduced his power to about 1,850 to 1,950 rpm (about 1,500 rpm below normal cruise), and then began to loiter to the west of the traffic pattern. Soon thereafter the aircraft's engine quit, and the pilot began looking for a place to make a forced landing. During the landing sequence, the pilot had to maneuver over some power lines, and just after he did so, the aircraft touched down on some soft terrain and flipped over onto its back. The pilot did not apply carburetor heat when the engine lost power, and because he had not listened to the Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS), he was unaware that at the time of the power loss there was only a one
degree difference between the temperature and the dew point. According to the DOT/FAA/CT-82/44 Carburetor Icing Probability Chart, the pilot was operating in ambient conditions where serious carburetor icing could be expected at both glide and cruise power.
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According to the pilot, earlier in the afternoon, he flew the airplane from one airport to another, and he and his passenger had lunch at the destination airport. The pilot reported that he experienced "some difficulty restarting the plane" for the return trip. After "several tries," he was able to restart the engine. The pilot stated that he did not recall checking the engine oil pressure after restarting the engine. After takeoff on runway 34, the pilot "noticed that the oil pressure indicated 0." He reduced power and maneuvered the airplane for an emergency landing on runway 11. During the turn to final, the airplane "lost altitude," and the pilot attempted to stop the descent by adding power, but the left wing struck the ground. According to the pilot, about 6 months before the accident, "there were several incidents where the oil pressure failed to come up after a stop for lunch. After mechanics replace[d] the oil pressure relief valve, this had not
been a problem." The reason for the loss of oil pressure on the accident flight was not determined.
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In a written statement the pilot reported that he lowered the landing gear before entering the downwind to runway 34. He reported that after the landing, during the rollout, the landing gear "collapsed and the airplane slid to a stop." A witness reported that the airplane's left wing "dropped" during landing and he heard what was described as the airplane's engines power up, followed by a rapid deceleration of the airplane's engines. The witness reported that as the engines decelerated, the airplane settled to the ground eventually coming to rest on its belly. Examination of the airplane's main landing gear system showed that the main landing gear assembly was whole and intact. The forward and aft attach fittings (both left and right) were undamaged and no deformation to the immediate area of the attach points was noted. The outboard landing gear doors were intact and remained attached at their respective mounting points. Nominal damage was noted to the
outboard gear door assemblies. The inboard landing gear doors remained attached to the wing assembly; however, both sustained extensive damage. Erosion type damage, to include longitudinal striations, was noted to both doors. Extensive damage was noted to the distal ends of both inboard doors. The outboard section of the left inboard gear door was bent, approximately 45 degrees, in the direction of the gear hinge. The outboard section of the right inboard gear door was curled inboard, opposite the direction of the hinge. The airplane's retractable courtesy step, which actuates simultaneously with the landing gear, was observed in the down and locked position. No damage was noted to the courtesy step assembly. The operator reported that with the exception of a leaking landing gear strut (left) there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane prior to the accident.