Taylorcraft F19 accident near Harper, Oregon, September 6, 2008
On September 6, 2008, a Taylorcraft F19, registered N208AP, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Harper, Oregon (Butler Ranch airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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 clearance from a tree during the takeoff initial climb.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 6, 2008
- Place
- Harper, Oregon · Butler Ranch · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Taylorcraft F19
- Registration
- N208AP · registry record · serial F-105
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said that he was departing from a private, soft, dirt airstrip. He asked the airstrip's owner for his departure recommendation, which was to stay on the left side of the 12-foot-wide airstrip. Immediately after liftoff, the left wing tip struck a tree branch, and the airplane rotated 90 degrees as it fell to the ground. The outboard 3 feet of the left wing was crushed by the impact and the fuselage, firewall, and rudder were wrinkled and/or bent.
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
What happened, in order
- Collision during takeoff/land during initial climb defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Tree(s) › Response/compensation
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 961 hours in all; 833 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: May 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Harper OR
- Destination: NONE Harper OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 09, 2,200 ft by 12 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 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.