Amateur-built Kolb Mark III accident near Prineville, Oregon, October 19, 2003
On October 19, 2003 at about 5:30 pm local time, a amateur-built Kolb Mark III, registered NONE, was substantially damaged in an accident near Prineville, Oregon (Prineville airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot in command's failure to maintain aircraft control during an aborted takeoff. Factors include the pilot's lack of experience in this type of aircraft (pusher).
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 19, 2003 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Prineville, Oregon · Prineville · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Kolb Mark III
- Registration
- NONE · no longer on the register · serial 065
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
This was only the second time that the pilot, who was conducting a series of evaluation flights on a recently built unregistered aircraft, had flown a pusher-type aircraft. During the first flight, he could not keep the aircraft from constantly porpoising, and that flight ended in an "exceedingly hard landing." During the accident flight, the pilot pulled onto the runway, applied power, and lifted off to a height of about five feet. He then immediately cut the power and landed straight ahead. Then, because he still had a lot of runway left, he attempted another liftoff. This time he allowed the aircraft's nose to pitch up significantly steeper than he wanted it to, and therefore the aircraft quickly climbed to a height of 10 to 20 feet above the runway. The pilot then "immediately cut the power" and the aircraft pitched to a steep nose down attitude, and made a "very hard landing." As the aircraft impacted the runway surface, the pilot accidentally "hit the throttle" and the aircraft lifted off a second time. The pilot therefore "...chopped the throttle" leading to the aircraft hitting "fairly hard" a second time. At that point, because he had been severely injured by the two impacts, the pilot was no longer able to make control inputs, so he "...let the aircraft run off the runway and stop on its own." There was no evidence of any problems with the flight controls, and there was no indication that there had been any other aircraft anomalies that would have contributed to the accident sequence.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,711 hours in all; 4 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 1,638 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 11, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 19, 2003; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Hirth F30 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: S39 Prineville OR at 5:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 5,000 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Other NTSB records under NONE 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.