Amateur-built AA-5A accident near Brooks, Oregon, September 12, 2004
On September 12, 2004 at about 9:45 pm local time, a amateur-built AA-5A, registered N26327, was destroyed in an accident near Brooks, Oregon (Smith Private Airport). It was an instructional 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 flight instructor's failure to maintain altitude/clearance on final approach to land resulting in an in-flight collision with terrain. Contributing factors were the student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the approach and the flight instructor's delay in taking remedial action.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 12, 2004 · about 9:45 pm local time
- Place
- Brooks, Oregon · Smith Private Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AA-5A
- Registration
- N26327 · registry record · serial AA5A0535
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the flight instructor, the instructional flight was a check-ride preparation flight for the student. The flight instructor said that he was having the student perform a simulated engine out approach and landing. He stated that "on short final, the air speed diminished and [he] added full power in an attempt to prevent a stall." The airplane's nose wheel contacted some berry bushes growing on a berm at the end of the runway. Subsequently, the airplane's nose pitched down and the left wing impacted the ground, resulting in the separation of the outboard 4 feet of the wing. Additionally, the engine, nose landing gear, and right main landing gear separated from the fuselage, and the empennage was bent 90 degrees to the left.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,700 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 39 hours in all; 28 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MMV Mcminnville OR at 9:30 pm
- Destination: 29OR Brooks OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,600 ft; scat at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 9:56 pm from SLE
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.