# NTSB LAX07LA195: Piper PA-12, N2343M, Imnaha, OR, June 16, 2007 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 16, 2007, 10:30 local (17:30 UTC) - Place: Imnaha, OR - Coordinates: 45.4563888888889, -116.586666666667 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.4564&lon=-116.5867&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 31, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 66117 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX07LA195 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/66117/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX07LA195 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - airport facilities,runway/landing area condition - rough/uneven - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - ground loop/swerve - not corrected, pilot in command - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - rock(s)/boulder(s) ## Analysis The pilot attempted to land at a back country dirt airstrip along side a river bank. During the landing roll the left tire struck a rock and the airplane veered off the runway to the left. The tires had been inflated to 25 pounds per square inch (psi) before the flight. On previous flights to the dirt strip the pilot had deflated the tire pressure to 12-15 psi, and landed without incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, including a bent wing strut. ## Factual narrative On June 16, 2007, about 1030 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-12, N2343M, collided with a rock on the landing roll on a dirt airstrip near Imnaha, Oregon. The pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The commercial pilot and one passenger were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The cross-country personal flight departed Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport, Lewiston, Idaho, about 0950. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The pilot stated in a written report that he was attempting to land at Sluice Creek, a back country dirt airstrip located along the banks of the Snake River in Oregon. During the landing roll, the left tire struck a rock and the airplane departed the runway to the left. The tires had been inflated to 25 pounds per square inch (psi) before the flight. He noted that on previous flights to Sluice Creek he had deflated the tire pressure to 12-15 psi, and landed without incident. According to an FAA inspector, the airplane sustained substantial damage, including a bent wing strut, which the pilot temporarily repaired at the scene of the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2343M](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2343M-2021-02-10), registration cancelled 2021-02-10, S/N 12-1603 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-12 - Registry model: [Piper PA-12](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-12) (registry code 7101202) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 12-1603 - Airframe hours: 4635 - Engines: Lycoming O-235 115 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Reed J. Taylor - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 1, 2006, 68 hours before - Departed: LWS, Lewiston, ID - Destination: Imnaha, OR - Airport: NONE, Sluice Creek Unimproved Strip, runway 21, 1,260 × 60 ft, dirt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 50; injuries: none; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review November 1, 2006; seat: front; flight hours: 11,676 total, 1,125 in this make and model, 11,488 as pilot in command, 120 in the last 90 days, 32 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 290° at 13 knots, gusting 19 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 6,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 45 °F - Altimeter: 29.89 inHg - Observed at: LWS, 67 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20070616013669A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20070616013669A), Jun 16, 2007: Piper PA12, Riggins, ID, Substantial damage. (-23) Upon landing at sluice creek emergency airstrip in hells canyon the left main gear tire hit a rock that collapsed the left landing gear aft tube… ## Other investigations on N2343M (2) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB SEA07CA065](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA07CA065), Feb 23, 2007: Piper PA-12 (N2343M), Lewiston, ID, substantial damage. Probable cause: the inadvertent use of the rudder by the passenger, which resulted in an inadvertent ground loop. - [NTSB SEA83LA001](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA83LA001), Sep 30, 1982: Piper PA-12 (N2343M), Salmon, ID, substantial damage From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.