Clark RV-9A N70720

Summary

On 23 July 2010 at about 20:30 local time, a Clark RV-9A registered N70720 was involved in an accident near Oregon City, Oregon, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 July 2010 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Oregon City, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

45.2753, -122.5686

Aircraft

Clark RV-9A

Registration

N70720

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Aurora → Oregon City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10LA366

1 person died.

The pilot's decision to depart with known mechanical anomalies and the loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The engine had recently been operating erratically and the day before the accident it lost power while the pilot was taxiing. Following numerous failed attempts to restart the engine, it eventually started and began to emit flames from the inlet port and a fire extinguisher was used to suppress the fire. The day of the accident, and after cleaning the residue left from the extinguishing agent, the pilot started the engine, performed a runup and then departed to fly the airplane back to his home airport. A short time after takeoff, the airplane was observed by witnesses to be maneuvering at a low altitude adjacent to a highway as if attempting to land on the road. The engine experienced a loss of engine power and the airplane collided with trees and powerlines during a forced landing; the airplane came to rest inverted and was partially consumed by a post crash fire. A postaccident inspection revealed that the extensive fire damage precluded testing the integrity of the fuel system. Numerous fittings and controls on the engine were loose or very low torque, most likely due to thermal damage from the post crash fire. The examination did not show any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction or abnormalities, although the damage was too extensive to definitively determine the reason for the loss of power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.