Caldwell Glasair II accident near Hermiston, OR
On October 14, 2004, a Caldwell Glasair II (airplane) was involved in an accident near Hermiston, OR. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 14, 2004
- Place
- Hermiston, OR
- Aircraft
- Caldwell Glasair II · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 45.823°N, 119.278°W
- NTSB ID
- 20041019X01651
NTSB summary
On October 14, 2004, approximately 0900 Pacific daylight time, an experimental Caldwell Glasair II, N706C, impacted the terrain while the pilot was performing low-level aerobatic maneuvers about one-half mile southwest of Hermiston Municipal Airport, Hermiston, Oregon. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, received fatal injuries, and the aircraft, which was owned and operated by the pilot, was destroyed by the impact and post-crash fire. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed Hermiston about 15 minutes before the crash, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed. There was no report of an ELT activation. According to witnesses, the pilot, who had been performing low-level aerobatic maneuvers to the east of the airport, made a low-level pass over the runway from east to west. The aircraft then pulled up rapidly and climbed on a near-vertical line. As the aircraft reached the top of its climb, its forward speed appeared to became very slow, and then it was witnessed doing a "wingover-like" maneuver to the left. As it completed the wingover maneuver, it appeared to enter a spin. The aircraft spun two or three times to the left, and then according to the witnesses, its rotation rate decreased. The witnesses reported that at the point where the rotation seemed to decrease, the nose of the aircraft started to rise, "as if the pilot was attempting to pull out of the dive." But soon after the rotation decreased and the nose started to rise, the aircraft impacted the terrain and immediately burst into flames. A
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain an airspeed above stall speed while executing a wingover maneuver at the top of a vertical climb, leading to an inadvertent spin, and the pilot's inadequate remedial action in attempting to recover from the spin. Factors include performing aerobatic maneuvers close to the terrain.
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Browse: Oregon
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
