SEA00LA174

NTSB accident investigation · Beard Lancair 320 · Bend, OR · August 31, 2000

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
August 31, 2000, 16:10 local (23:10 UTC)
Place
Bend, OR
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N6BQBeard Lancair 320
Weather
Day
Status
Completed · report July 2, 2001
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
20000831012279A
Case key
50235

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's failure to take adequate remedial action upon encountering aircraft control difficulties during landing. Factors included gusty wind conditions and the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during landing.

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

Loss of control - in flightLanding
Weather condition - gustsFactor
Aircraft control - not maintainedPilot in commandFactor
Remedial action - inadequatePilot in commandCause
Gear collapsedLanding

Analysis

The pilot stated that after the airplane landed, 'the wind picked the plane back up into the air far enough that I added some power so that we would not stall.' The pilot reported that the airplane 'may have bounced once again', but that in any event he decided to go around at this point and added power. However, he stated, 'the plane was very difficult to control and the plane was no longer over the runway, but off to the left side.' The pilot stated that the airplane's propeller then struck the ground, and that the airplane then slid 50 to 100 feet and its landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported that no mechanical malfunction or failure was involved. Reported winds at Redmond, Oregon, about 9 nautical miles north of the accident site, changed from out of 330 degrees at 16 knots at 1556 to out of 350 degrees at 16 knots, gusting to 23 knots, at 1656.

Factual narrative

On August 31, 2000, approximately 1610 Pacific daylight time, a Beard Lancair 320 amateur-built experimental airplane, N6BQ, was substantially damaged in a loss of control and subsequent gear collapse during landing on runway 34 at the Bend, Oregon, municipal airport. The private pilot-in-command of the aircraft and a private pilot-rated passenger aboard the aircraft were not injured in the accident. Visual meteorological conditions, with winds from 330 degrees true at 16 knots, were reported at Roberts Field, Redmond, Oregon, at 1556. A visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR 91 personal flight from Hanford, California, to Bend.

The pilot stated that the flight proceeded uneventfully until the landing. He stated that after the airplane landed, "events occurred very rapidly" and that he was "not exactly certain of what took place", but stated that "the wind picked the plane back up into the air far enough that I added some power so that we would not stall." The pilot reported that the airplane "may have bounced once again", but that in any event he decided to go around at this point and added power. However, he stated, "the plane was very difficult to control and the plane was no longer over the runway, but off to the left side." The pilot stated that the airplane's propeller then struck the ground, and that the airplane then slid 50 to 100 feet and its landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported that no mechanical failure or malfunction was involved in the accident.

Reported winds at Redmond, about 9 nautical miles north of the accident site, changed from out of 330 degrees at 16 knots at 1556 to out of 350 degrees at 16 knots, gusting to 23 knots, at 1656.

According to the U.S. Government Airport/Facility Directory, Bend Municipal runway 34 is 5,005 feet long and 75 feet wide, and is asphalt-surfaced. The runway 34 threshold is displaced 210 feet due to a road running perpendicular to the approach end, leaving a usable landing distance of 4,795 feet. The airport is equipped with a wind cone and a landing tee, and is serviced by UNICOM.

Aircraft

Registration
N6BQ
Reported as
Beard Lancair 320 (LANCAIR 32)
Category
Airplane, amateur-built
Serial number
348320575P
Airframe hours
252
Engine
Lycoming O-320-D, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
Bradley A. Beard
Airworthiness certificate
Special, Experimental (Special)
Last inspection
Annual · February 12, 2000 · 93 hours before
Departed
HJO · Hanford, CA
Destination
S07
Flight plan
VFR
Airport
S07 · Bend Muni, runway 34, 4,795 × 75 ft, asphalt

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
45
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Unknown, Unknown
Seat
Left
Flight hours
485 total · 252 in this make and model · 396 as pilot in command · 51 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Day
Wind
312° at 16 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
70 °F, dew point 39 °F
Altimeter
29.00 inHg
Observed at
RDM, 9 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.