- Date
- February 13, 2003, 10:15 local (18:15 UTC)
- Place
- Independence, OR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N110DKKesterson Nieuport 11
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 13, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Hillsboro, Oregon
- FAA report
- 20030213002029A
- Case key
- 56499
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Aircraft control not maintained during takeoff. Factors include soft/muddy terrain.
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.
Analysis
The commercial pilot reported that the airplane (powered by a 60 horsepower Volkswagen engine) yawed to the right immediately after liftoff. The pilot aborted the takeoff and the airplane settled back onto the ground, well right of the runway. After touching down, the airplane encountered soft/muddy terrain and nosed over. The pilot indicated that his last flight review, conducted in a Cessna 175, was completed on May 15, 1992.
Factual narrative
On February 13, 2003, about 1015 Pacific standard time, an experimental Kesterson Nieuport 11 airplane, N110DK, sustained substantial damage following an aborted takeoff and subsequent nose over at the Independence State Airport, Independence, Oregon. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. The airplane is owned by the pilot, and was being operated as a personal flight under the provisions of Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the local flight.
During a telephone conversation with an investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board, and subsequent written statement (attached), the pilot reported that the airplane (powered by a 60 horsepower Volkswagen engine) yawed to the right immediately after liftoff. The pilot aborted the takeoff and the airplane settled back onto the ground, well right of the runway. After touching down, the airplane encountered soft/muddy terrain and nosed over.
In his written report, the pilot indicated that his last flight review, conducted in a Cessna 175, was completed on May 15, 1992.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N110DK
- Reported as
- Kesterson Nieuport 11
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 006
- Airframe hours
- 0.25
- Engine
- Volkswagen 1835 cc, 60 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Clayton C. Kesterson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 24, 2003 · 0.25 hours before
- Departed
- 7S5 · Independence, OR
- Destination
- 7S5
- Airport
- 7S5 · Independence State, runway 16, 3,000 × 60 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
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Unknown
- Last flight review
- May 15, 1992
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 800 total · 1 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.75 inHg
- Observed at
- KSLE, 8 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 19, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 350 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.