Amateur-built STARDUSTER SA-300 accident near North Bend, Oregon, February 28, 2010
On February 28, 2010 at about 10:30 pm local time, a amateur-built STARDUSTER SA-300, registered N105NL, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near North Bend, 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 complete loss of engine power during cruise for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 28, 2010 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- North Bend, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built STARDUSTER SA-300
- Registration
- N105NL · no longer on the register · serial 685
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After being airborne for about 10 minutes, the pilot applied full carburetor heat as he entered an area that he felt had high humidity. About five minutes later the airplane's engine, a 220 horsepower Continental W670 radial, began to lose power. Although the pilot managed to keep it at cruise power for a short period of time by pumping the throttle, the engine then slowly lost all power. The pilot was forced to execute an emergency landing in a rough log-covered clear-cut in the forest. Upon touchdown, the airplane cartwheeled and came to a stop within about 100 feet. A post-accident inspection of the airplane's fuel system, ignition system, and air induction system did not reveal any evidence of a malfunction or anomaly that would have kept the engine from producing cruise power. The airplane had about 28 gallons of fuel in its tank at takeoff, and the pilot said that he had flown the airplane many times in the high humidity conditions found near the ocean, and that with the full application of carburetor heat; the airplane's carburetor had never accumulated ice in its throat. The reported temperature and dewpoint (14 and 7 degrees C respectively), when plotted on a carburetor icing probability chart, fell in the area annotated "Moderate Icing Cruise Power or Serious Icing Descent Power".
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
What happened, in order
- Loss of engine power (total) during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (flare/touchdown)
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › Mountainous/hilly terrain › Contributed to outcome
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › Rough terrain › Contributed to outcome
- cause Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine
- Flight time: 913 hours in all; 247 in this make and model; 13 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 747 as pilot in command; 50 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 21, 2008
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 247 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, December 30, 2009
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor W670-16 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KRBG Roseburg OR at 10:10 pm
- Destination: KOTH North Bend OR
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.