Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 12-Q accident near Pendleton, Oregon, September 7, 1997
On September 7, 1997 at about 5:45 pm local time, a Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 12-Q, registered N496W, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pendleton, Oregon (Eastern Oregon Regional 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 tail wheel assembly spring disconnected.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 7, 1997 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- Pendleton, Oregon · Eastern Oregon Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 12-Q TRAVEL AIR
- Registration
- N496W · registry record · serial 2023
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that during the landing roll, the aircraft started to swerve to the left. Right rudder input did not seem to make any difference and the aircraft ground-looped to the left. Shortly after the accident, the pilot and a mechanic found that one of the springs that ran from the rudder to the tail wheel mechanism had become disconnected.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,000 hours in all; 300 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 3,900 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 14, 1996; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,725 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Baker OR at 4:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 5,588 ft by 140 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°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 N496W 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.