# NTSB SEA05CA060: Birtch Kitfox II, N481DB, Dillard, OR, March 11, 2005

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report
- Date: March 11, 2005, 13:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place: Dillard, OR
- Coordinates: 43.098056, -123.428886
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.0981&lon=-123.4289&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 2 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report June 8, 2005
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Parties: Portland FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 61150
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA05CA060
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/61150/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA05CA060

## Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from obstacles while in cruise flight at low altitude, which resulted in an inflight collision with a power line.  A factor was the pilot's decision to fly at low altitude.

## Sequence of events

In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf).

- In flight collision with object, cruise
  - low altitude flight/maneuver - performed, pilot in command (contributing factor)
  - object - wire,static
  - clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause)
- In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled
  - terrain condition - water

## Analysis

The pilot reported that he was cruising upstream on a river when the airplane "struck the upper power lines (about 80 feet above water) with prop and left gear leg."  The aircraft assumed a nose down attitude and then "released itself from the wires."  The pilot attempted to recover, but the airplane "pancaked into the river" where it came to rest upright in "knee deep" water.  The left wing sustained structural damage, and the right lift strut was bent.

## Factual narrative

On March 11, 2005, about 1300 Pacific standard time, a Birtch Kitfox II amateur-built airplane, N481DB, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a power line during cruise flight and then descended into the South Umpqua River near Dillard, Oregon.  The commercial pilot and the passenger were not injured.  The personal flight was being operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91.  Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.  The local flight departed from a private airstrip in Dillard about 1230.

The pilot reported that he was cruising upstream on the South Umpqua River when the airplane "struck the upper power lines (about 80 feet above water) with prop and left gear leg."  The aircraft assumed a nose down attitude and then "released itself from the wires."  The pilot attempted to recover, but the airplane "pancaked into the river" where it came to rest upright in "knee deep" water.

An FAA inspector examined the airplane and reported that the left wing sustained structural damage, and the right lift strut was bent.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N481DB](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N481DB-2013-06-18), registration cancelled 2013-06-18, S/N 552, built 1995 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Birtch Kitfox II
- Registry model: [Birtch David Wayne KITFOX II](https://openairdocs.org/model/birtch-david-wayne-kitfox-ii) (registry code 05626XU) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Bombardier ROTAX (ALL)](https://openairdocs.org/engine/bombardier-rotax-all) (registry code 09050, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number: 552
- Engines: Rotax 582 reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Operator: Nels T. Hult
- Registered owner: David W Birtch
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed: Dillard, OR

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 57; injuries: none; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 577 total, 10 in this make and model, 2 in the last 90 days

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day

## 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 20050311002779A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050311002779A), Mar 11, 2005: Amtr KITFOXII, Dillard, OR, Substantial damage. (-23) On March 11, 2005, at approximately 1255 pacific standard time, an experimental Kitfox ii, N481DB, collided with a power line over the umpqua river near…

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.

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