Piper PA-12 accident near Imnaha, Oregon, June 16, 2007
On June 16, 2007 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-12, registered N2343M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Imnaha, Oregon (Sluice Creek Unimproved Strip airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 16, 2007 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Imnaha, Oregon · Sluice Creek Unimproved Strip
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-12 · all PA-12s on the register
- Registration
- N2343M · no longer on the register · serial 12-1603
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot attempted to land at a back country dirt airstrip along side a river bank. During the landing roll the left tire struck a rock and the airplane veered off the runway to the left. The tires had been inflated to 25 pounds per square inch (psi) before the flight. On previous flights to the dirt strip the pilot had deflated the tire pressure to 12-15 psi, and landed without incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, including a bent wing strut.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: balloon
- Flight time: 11,676 hours in all; 1,125 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 32 in the last 30 days; 11,488 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: November 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,635 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 2006; 68 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LWS Lewiston ID at 4:50 pm
- Destination: Imnaha OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 1,260 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 13 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 6,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.89 inHg
- Observation at 5:56 pm from LWS, 67 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N2343M the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.