The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Accidents · NTSB SEA05LA015 · Final report

Luscombe 11A accident near Redmond, Oregon, November 13, 2004

On November 13, 2004 at about 9:15 pm local time, a Luscombe 11A, registered N1627B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Redmond, Oregon (Roberts Field). 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 student pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll. Also causal were the instructor's inadequate supervision and remedial action. Factors include soft terrain just off the side of the runway.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
November 13, 2004 · about 9:15 pm local time · cases in 2004
Place
Redmond, Oregon · Roberts Field · cases near this airport · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
Weather
visual conditions (good weather)
Aircraft
Luscombe 11A · all 11As on the register
Registration
N1627B · registry record · serial 11-133
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The pilot/owner, who was sitting in the left seat, was taking instruction for the purpose of developing his proficiency to a point where the instructor pilot would endorse his log book for pilot-in-command operation of a tailwheel aircraft. The pilot had completed four landings on the first day he flew this aircraft, and had done one other landing on the day of the accident. On his second attempt, while trying to execute a three-point (full-stall) landing, he inadvertently allowed the main gear to touch the runway first, and then the aircraft bounced back into the air. It then touched down in a three-point attitude, but began to veer off to the left. The pilot corrected to the right, but as he tried to make the correction, the aircraft continued to turn toward the right edge of the runway. Ultimately he put in full left rudder and a significant amount of left brake in an attempt to get the aircraft realigned with the runway, but these inputs were not sufficient to correct the situation. As the aircraft got near the right edge of the runway, the flight instructor came on the controls in and attempt to regain control of the aircraft, but it departed the side of the runway and encountered soft terrain. Because the left main gear tire had gone flat as the aircraft was sliding sideways on the runway surface, when that wheel encountered the soft terrain, the aircraft rocked up onto the left main gear strut, and the wing contacted the ground. There were no brakes on the side of the aircraft that the instructor was sitting on. In his written report to the NTSB, the pilot stated that when the aircraft first veered to the left, he might have overcorrected. There was no indication that there had been any anomaly in the tail wheel steering or flight control systems.

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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
  • Flight time: 12,000 hours in all; 9,000 on instruments
  • Last flight review: August 29, 2003
  • Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
  • Seat: rgt
  • Injury: no injuries

Pilot

  • Certificate: private
  • Ratings: single-engine land
  • Flight time: 471 hours in all; 3 in this make and model; 18 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 425 as pilot in command
  • Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
  • Seat: left
  • Injury: no injuries

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 2,856 hours
  • Last inspection: annual inspection, October 9, 2004; 3 hours since
  • Maximum gross weight: 2,280 lb
  • Seats: 4
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Continental O-470-E-185 (piston); 0 hours total

The flight

  • Departed from: RDM Redmond OH at 8:00 pm
  • Destination: RDM Redmond OR
  • Flight plan: none
  • Runway 10, 7,000 ft by 100 ft
  • A second pilot was aboard

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Visibility: 10 statute miles
  • Sky: overcast at 3,000 ft
  • Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew2

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.

Connections how this case links to the rest of the register

Aircraft
Place
Analytics

The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/SEA05LA015.json.

The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.

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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.