- Date
- February 27, 1991, 17:35 local (Feb 28, 1991, 01:35 UTC)
- Place
- Oregon City, OR
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 2 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N7119TCessna 172
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 7, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910227003599A
- Case key
- 41305
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
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilot's failure to attain proper airspeed before takeoff. Factors relating to the accident were the binding brake, the uphill grass airstrip, the tail wind weather conditions, and the improper annual inspection that was just completed on the aircraft.
Analysis
The pilot initiated a takeoff uphill on a grass airstrip in tailwind weather conditions. The acft lifted off near mid-field, settled back to the ground, and took off again 150 feet from the end of the strip. The acft impacted berry vines at the end of the strip, rolled 90 degrees to the right and impacted a tree off the end of the airstrip. Exam of the wreckage revealed the right brake cylinder was corroded and the brake was binding. The a & p mechanic who signed off an annual inspection of the acft just before the accident did not have acft insp auth.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7119T
- Reported as
- Cessna 172
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17246719
- Airframe hours
- 1,533
- Engine
- Continental O-300-A, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Merle D. Kirchem
- Registered owner
- Merle D. Kirchem
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 27, 1991 · 1 hours before
- Airport
- 19S · Aero Acres, runway 21, 1,835 × 300 ft, grass/turf
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 308 total · 225 in this make and model · 284 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 45 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SLE, 27 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.