SEA97LA142

After using the engine to take off and fly to the area where he was going to soar, the pilot retracted the engine into the fuselage. When he was finished soaring, the pilot extended the engine and attempted to restart it. When he could not get it to restart after several attempts, the pilot elected to make a forced landing in an open field. Because the aircraft was low to the ground when the pilot gave up on his attempts to get the engine started, he did not have time to retract the engine, and he forgot to extend the wing flaps. Because the engine was extended and the flaps were in the up position, the aircraft touched down with an excessive rate of descent. The force of the impact caused both wings to flex downward and contact the terrain. One wing became stuck in the soft dirt, and as the aircraft was spun around, its structure received substantial damage. According to the pilot, the reason his engine would not start was because he had forgotten to move the ignition switch to the 'on' position prior to attempting the engine start. He also stated that he had recently purchased the aircraft, and that he did not use a checklist for the engine start, nor did he use a before landing checklist. He further stated that the gliders he was accustomed to flying did not have wing flaps.

On June 14, 1997, approximately 1520 Pacific daylight time, a Glaser-Dirks DG-400 powered glider, N321V, impacted the terrain during an off-airport forced landing near Weston, Oregon. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured, but the aircraft, which was owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The local 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed Vista Field, Kennewick, Washington about 30 minutes earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT activation.

According to the pilot, who reported that he had recently purchased the aircraft, he used the aircraft's engine to take off and fly to the area where he was going to soar. Upon reaching that area, he shut down the engine and retracted it into the fuselage. When he finished soaring, the pilot extended the engine and attempted to get it started in order to fly back to the airport of departure. Because it would not start after several attempts, and because he did not have enough altitude to reach an airport, he elected to make a forced landing in a open field. Although he wanted to retract the engine into the fuselage before landing, the aircraft was so low by the time the pilot gave up on getting the engine started that he did not have time to retract it. Just prior to touchdown, the pilot lowered the landing gear, but he forgot to lower the flaps to landing position, and they remained fully retracted during the landing. Because the pilot was attempting to land with the engine extended and the flaps retracted, the aircraft contacted the terrain at an excessive rate of descent. According to the pilot, "The force of the impact drove the cockpit area of the fuselage into the soft dirt and both wings flexed down, striking the soil." The left wing of the glider caught the dirt, and as it was spun around, its structure sustained substantial damage.

The pilot further stated that after the accident he realized that because he was new to the aircraft, he had forgotten to move the ignition switch to the "ON" position before trying to get the engine started. He said that there appeared to be no other problem with the engine. He also said that he did not use a restart or before landing checklist, and that the gliders he was accustomed to flying did not have wing flaps.