Piper PA-12 accident near Salem, Oregon, March 6, 1999
On March 6, 1999, a Piper PA-12, registered N4328X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Salem, Oregon. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot-in-command's misjudgment of distance/altitude on final approach, and overload of the left main landing gear. A factor was the embankment at the end of the landing strip.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 6, 1999
- Place
- Salem, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-12 · all PA-12s on the register
- Registration
- N4328X · registry record · serial 12144
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that 'while practicing [a] short field approach, I landed a little shorter than planned.' The aircraft impacted the up-sloping terrain short of the threshold to the pilot's 900 foot long, turf landing strip and nosed over, coming to rest approximately 18 feet beyond the gear contact with the up-sloping edge. The left main landing gear folded aft upon ground impact.
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; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,900 hours in all; 25 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 1,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,049 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 23, 1998; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Aurora OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 900 ft by 45 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.
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.