Adkins RIDGE RUNNER II N825PB

Summary

On 29 November 2008 at about 20:36 local time, a Adkins RIDGE RUNNER II registered N825PB was involved in an accident near Mulino, Oregon, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 November 2008 at 20:36

Classification

Accident

Location

Mulino, Oregon, United States

Nearest airport

Portland-Mulino (4S9)

Coordinates

45.2164, -122.5903

Aircraft

Adkins RIDGE RUNNER II

Registration

N825PB

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mulino → Mulino

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09LA052

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to attain an adequate airspeed that resulted in a stall/mush during the initial climb. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's lack of experience in this make and model airplane and the improper adjustment of the propeller pitch.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had recently purchased the amateur-built experimental airplane and received operating limitations from the Federal Aviation Administration for flight testing of the airplane. On the day of the accident, the pilot first performed taxi tests and then began taking off, climbing to about 10 feet above the ground, reducing power and landing back on the runway. The pilot completed a few of these runs and then taxied back onto the runway for another run. He advanced the throttle and noted that the tachometer only went to 4,000 rpm. The airplane lifted off the runway and climbed to about 150 feet above the ground. The pilot said it would not "climb higher or speed up." The airspeed was reading about 45 to 50 knots. The pilot started looking for a place to land and seeing obstacles ahead and to the left, he executed a shallow right turn back towards the airfield. The airplane stalled without notice and the pilot was not able to recover prior to ground impact. The airplane came to rest in a nose down position in a flat grassy field. The engine was displaced rearward, and the forward portion of the fuselage was crushed and compressed aft. The pilot reported that he had accumulated 240.7 hours total flight time of which 0 hours were in the accident make and model airplane. Following the accident, the propeller was found to be in "high pitch preventing the engine from turning up to more than 4,000 rpm, limiting the horsepower."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.