SEA98LA137

The pilot reported that while landing to the northwest on an 1,875-foot-long runway, the wind shifted from a quartering headwind to a tailwind at touchdown. The pilot stated he attempted heavy braking, but that the brakes faded to 'nothing.' He said that he had inadequate runway remaining to stop or to go around with obstacle clearance, so he intentionally swerved the airplane. The airplane then flipped over. An FAA inspector who responded to the scene and examined the aircraft's brakes reported that he found the brakes to be functional. Weather stations in the area reported southerly to southwesterly winds at 5 to 18 knots at the reported time of the accident. The single northeast/southwest runway at the unattended airport can be landed on in either direction, with the runway threshold displaced 300 feet for landings to the southeast.

On July 14, 1998, approximately 1900 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-22-160 airplane, N9199D, departed the runway surface and flipped over while landing on runway 32 at Pacific City State Airport, Pacific City, Oregon. The airplane was substantially damaged, and the private pilot-in-command and one passenger were not injured. No flight plan had been filed for the 14 CFR 91 personal flight from Stark's Twin Oaks Airpark, Hillsboro, Oregon.

The pilot reported that at the time of the accident, there was a gusty quartering left headwind. The pilot reported that he touched down in the first quarter of the runway, and that at touchdown the wind changed from a quartering headwind to a tailwind. The pilot stated that he attempted to brake heavily, but that the brakes faded to "nothing." The pilot stated that since there was inadequate runway to go around and insure obstacle clearance (trees close in on both sides and a fence/road/building combination at the departure end), he swerved the airplane to the right in an attempt to ground-loop. The aircraft then flipped over on its back and skidded approximately 20 feet to a stop. The pilot stated on his NTSB accident report: "I maintain that the brakes 'faded' during attempted normal braking."

The FAA inspector who responded to the accident scene reported in a telephone call from the accident site to the NTSB investigator-in-charge that evidence gathered at the site indicated that the pilot had landed three-quarters of the way down the runway with 20 knots of tail wind. The FAA inspector checked the aircraft's brakes at the accident scene and found them to be functional.

The pilot reported winds at Pacific City State as being from 320 degrees, with gusts to approximately 8 knots. The pilot did not report the runway condition at Pacific City State at the time, but indicated there was no precipitation at the airport at the time of the accident. The 1856 METAR observation at Astoria, Oregon, a coastal airport located 58 nautical miles north of Pacific City State, reported winds from 200 degrees true (approximately 180 degrees magnetic) at 11 knots, gusting to 18 knots, with light rain. The 1853 METAR observation at McMinnville, Oregon, located inland approximately 36 nautical miles east of Pacific City State, reported winds from 220 degrees true (approximately 200 degrees magnetic) at 5 knots.

According to the PA-22 owner's manual, normal landing roll with flaps extended is 500 feet, and landing distance over a 50-foot barrier is 1,280 feet with flaps extended. The recommended normal landing procedure is to touch down at 50 to 60 MPH, then hold the control wheel back far enough to keep the plane in a nose-high attitude as long as possible to shorten the landing run by producing maximum drag on the wings. As the plane slows down, the nose wheel should be allowed to drop to the ground and brakes applied. The manual states that in high wind conditions, it may be desirable to approach "at an airspeed which assures ample controllability regardless of gusts", and that "In this case the ground can be contacted at airspeeds appreciably higher than in normal landings, and the airplane held in a level altitude [sic] at all times on the ground to reduce wind effect."

The single runway at Pacific City State, 14/32, is an 1,875 foot long by 30 foot wide asphalt runway. The runway 14 threshold is displaced 300 feet, giving a usable landing distance of 1,575 feet on runway 14. The airport elevation is 5 feet above sea level. The unattended airport is equipped with a windsock about 1/3 of the runway length from the southeast end, on the west side of the runway. The U.S. Government Airport/Facility Directory lists obstacles to runway 32 as a hill, and to runway 14 as a power line.