Cessna 150M accident near Hillsboro, Oregon, October 14, 2007
On October 14, 2007 at about 3:00 am local time, a Cessna 150M, registered N45720, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hillsboro, Oregon (Stark'S Twin Oaks Airpark 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 misjudged and delayed landing flare that resulted in a hard landing and porpoise down the runway. Contributing factors in the accident were the night conditions and the optical illusion created by the narrow runway width and upsloping terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 14, 2007 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Hillsboro, Oregon · Stark'S Twin Oaks Airpark
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150M · all 150Ms on the register
- Registration
- N45720 · registry record · serial 15077035
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane hit the runway earlier than the pilot expected. The touchdown was hard and the airplane bounced several times down the runway, striking the propeller blades on the runway before coming to rest upright on the pavement. The pilot indicated that the night conditions, narrow runway width, and the upsloping terrain, led her to believe that the airplane was higher than it actually was (night optical illusion). She was setting up to flare for landing when the airplane hit the runway hard, and bounced down the runway.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 487 hours in all; 70 in this make and model; 59 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 259 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Teledyne Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 7S3 Hillsboro OR at 1:30 am
- Destination: 7S3 Hillsboro OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 02, 2,400 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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.