Ontario Airport: Ontario, Oregon

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The pilot, who was conducting a series of touch-and-go landings, allowed the airplane to balloon during the landing flare. The airplane then dropped in from about five feet above the runway, resulting in a hard landing on all three landing gear. The pilot then added power, took off, and continued in the traffic pattern for another landing. During the subsequent landing roll, the nose landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot, who had accumulated about 1,500 hours total flying time, had not flown this make and model airplane prior to this flight. Updated at Oct 20 2009 1:50PM
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The pilot departed the airport for a local flight, and returned after approximately fifty minutes to practice landings. During the second landing, the aircraft, which was equipped with "31 inch bushwheels," bounced upon touchdown. The pilot then advanced the throttle to recover from the bounce. The aircraft touched down again, on centerline, but on all three wheels at once. The aircraft swerved to the left, the right gear collapsed and the wing impacted the ground. The aircraft came to a rest in an upright position.
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The aircraft descended into a reservoir off the departure end of the runway during the takeoff initial climb. The pilot held the control yoke in the full aft position during the entire takeoff roll. Due to the position of the control yoke, the aircraft used considerably more runway than it would have if the yoke had been in the near-neutral position. After lifting off approximately 1,600 feet down the 1,840 foot runway, the aircraft traveled about 300 more feet before settling into a reservoir that was just off the departure end of the runway. There was no report of any engine or flight control problem.
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According to the pilot, he departed thinking the airplane had 115 gallons of fuel aboard, when it had 55 gallons of fuel aboard. The shortfall of 60 gallons was the result of a refueling request that the pilot made to a fixed base operator that did not take place and that the pilot did not verify had taken place. Fuel exhaustion occurred in both engines when the airplane was approximately 7,500 feet above an airport. The pilot spiraled down over the airport and entered the pattern for runway 14. He intentionally elected "to err on the side of landing long and not have any risk of being short." On short final, the airplane was "clearly high and fast, pretty much as expected, but not slowing, which was not expected." The airplane touched down approximately 1,000 feet prior to the end of the runway, overran the runway end, impacted a concrete irrigation channel about 350 feet from the runway end, and came to a stop approximately 200 feet past the channel.
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The pilot estimated there was 82 gallons of fuel on board when he departed on the second leg of the cross-country flight. Approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes later, after the gear was down and locked and while turning from downwind to base, the pilot noticed a vibration coming from the left side of the airplane; an unsuccessful attempt to lower the flaps confirmed that the left engine had failed. Being high and fast with no flaps the pilot elected to continue his approach and land, but over the approach end of the runway the right engine quit. The pilot then attempted to force the airplane onto the runway, which resulted in several bounces. The airplane made firm contact with the runway, then overran the end of the runway, going off the end of the runway, and then over an irrigation ditch before coming to rest upright in an onion field. A post-accident investigation of the airplane's four fuel tanks revealed that the right auxiliary, right main, and
left main fuel tanks were empty, while the left auxiliary fuel tank had about 2 inches of fuel remaining. The investigation revealed no anomalies with the airplane, which would have precluded normal operation. The pilot stated that he didn't know where the fuel went, only that he encountered some high winds en route to his destination.
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The pilot said that he was practicing takeoff and landings with a 10 knot crosswind for proficiency. He was using runway 14, and he said the wind was 220 degrees at 10 knots. He said that he had done 5 landings without any problems, and on the final landing the plane bounced and went into a three point landing . Next, the upwind wing started to come up, and he applied full aileron correction but could not stop the airplane from turning into the wind. The left wing tip impacted the ground wrinkling the wing, and the left main landing gear strut was bent.

According to witnesses near the accident site, the pilot was maneuvering the airplane while herding cattle when the accident occurred. A witness reported that he observed the airplane "...dive down at the cows and then pull up at a pretty sharp angle." The witness stated this occurred twice, and after the second maneuver, the pilot initiated a 360 degree turn. After completing the turn, with the wings level, the airplane collided with a series of power transmission lines that were located at the pilot's 12 o'clock position. The airplane subsequently collided with terrain. Post accident examination and teardown of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure prior to impact. (Crowley Ranch)

Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying at a low altitude over an open field. During one low altitude maneuver, the airplane entered a steep right bank and rolled inverted. Thereafter, the airplane nose dived into the ground. The engine sounded as though its speed (rpm) increased during the descent. An examination of the accident site and wreckage indicated a ground scar consistent with a steep nose down impact. The wreckage was examined by an FAA inspector. Fuel was found in a fuel tank and in the engine's dual carburetors. There was no fire or evidence of mechanical malfunction. The reason for the pilot's loss of control and uncontrolled descent was not determined.