# NTSB SEA00LA078: Piper PA-36-300, N82698, Lexington, OR, April 22, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 21, 2000, 17:45 local (Apr 22, 2000, 00:45 UTC) - Place: Lexington, OR - Coordinates: 45.570884, -119.600273 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.5709&lon=-119.6003&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 4, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 49063 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA00LA078 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/49063/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA00LA078 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to adequately compensate for wind conditions upon encountering a wind shift on takeoff. A factor was variable winds. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water encounter with weather, takeoff - weather condition - variable wind (contributing factor) - Loss of control - on ground/water, takeoff - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - Dragged wing,rotor,pod,float or tail/skid, takeoff ## Analysis After completing aerial application operations for the day, the pilot took off to the north on a private airstrip with an approaching thunderstorm cell and heavy rain in the area. During takeoff, winds in the area shifted to southwesterly at about 20 knots, gusting to 25 knots (a nearby weather observation station reported winds shifting from north-northwesterly at 10 knots at 1800 to southwesterly at 27 knots, gusting to 32 knots, at 1900.) The pilot was unable to maintain directional control and the aircraft ground-looped, collapsing its right main gear and damaging its right wing. The pilot reported that no mechanical failure or malfunction was involved. ## Factual narrative On April 21, 2000, approximately 1745 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-36-300 agricultural aircraft, N82698, was substantially damaged in a ground loop on takeoff from a private airstrip near Lexington, Oregon. The commercial pilot-in-command of the aircraft was not injured in the accident. The pilot reported that visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident site, and no flight plan had been filed for the 14 CFR 91 positioning flight from the accident airstrip to the pilot's home airstrip, also near Lexington. The pilot reported that having completed agricultural aerial application operations for the day, he took off to the north with a thunderstorm cell approaching and heavy rain at the accident site. He stated that during the takeoff, the aircraft encountered a "wind [shift] and change of direction." The pilot reported that he was unable to maintain directional control upon encountering the wind shift, and that the aircraft ground looped. During the ground loop, the aircraft's right main landing gear collapsed and its right wing was damaged. The pilot indicated that no mechanical failure or malfunction was involved in the accident. The pilot, who reported he did not obtain a weather briefing for the flight, reported the accident area winds as southwesterly at 20 knots, gusting to 25 knots, and that the airstrip surface was wet pavement and grass, 2,000 feet long and 30 feet wide. In an 1800 hourly METAR observation, Pendleton, Oregon, reported clear skies, 10 statute miles visibility, and winds from 330 degrees true at 12 knots. A subsequent Pendleton special observation, issued at 1900, gave conditions there as: ceiling 7,500 feet broken, visibility 1 statute mile with thunderstorm and haze, and winds from 230 degrees true at 27 knots, gusting to 32 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N82698](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N82698-2023-04-27), registration cancelled 2023-04-27, S/N 36-7860014 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-36-300 - Registry model: [Piper PA-36-300](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-36-300) (registry code 7103612) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 36-7860014 - Airframe hours: 3600 - Engines: Lycoming IO-720-A1B 400 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Registered owner: Anthony W. Seitz - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, February 9, 2000, 135 hours before - Destination: LEXINGTON, OR - Airport: Sandhollow Ag Strip, runway 36, 2,000 × 30 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 41; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: center; flight hours: 4,677 total, 1,844 in this make and model, 4,677 as pilot in command, 135 in the last 90 days, 58 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Wind: 225° at 20 knots, gusting 25 - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 2,500 ft broken - Temperature: 64 °F ## 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 20000421009439A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000421009439A), Apr 21, 2000: Piper PA36300, Pendleton, OR, No damage. (-23) During takeoff from landing strip (19 miles sw of Pendleton, Oregon) the pilot encountered a wind shift along with high gusts. He aborted the takeoff but… 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.