Event SEA00LA174

Factual narrative

On August 31, 2000, approximately 1610 Pacific daylight time, a Beard Lancair 320 amateur-built experimental airplane, N6BQ, was substantially damaged in a loss of control and subsequent gear collapse during landing on runway 34 at the Bend, Oregon, municipal airport. The private pilot-in-command of the aircraft and a private pilot-rated passenger aboard the aircraft were not injured in the accident. Visual meteorological conditions, with winds from 330 degrees true at 16 knots, were reported at Roberts Field, Redmond, Oregon, at 1556. A visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR 91 personal flight from Hanford, California, to Bend. The pilot stated that the flight proceeded uneventfully until the landing. He stated that after the airplane landed, "events occurred very rapidly" and that he was "not exactly certain of what took place", but stated that "the wind picked the plane back up into the air far enough that I added some power so that we would not stall." The pilot reported that the airplane "may have bounced once again", but that in any event he decided to go around at this point and added power. However, he stated, "the plane was very difficult to control and the plane was no longer over the runway, but off to the left side." The pilot stated that the airplane's propeller then struck the ground, and that the airplane then slid 50 to 100 feet and its landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported that no mechanical failure or malfunction was involved in the accident. Reported winds at Redmond, about 9 nautical miles north of the accident site, changed from out of 330 degrees at 16 knots at 1556 to out of 350 degrees at 16 knots, gusting to 23 knots, at 1656. According to the U.S. Government Airport/Facility Directory, Bend Municipal runway 34 is 5,005 feet long and 75 feet wide, and is asphalt-surfaced. The runway 34 threshold is displaced 210 feet due to a road running perpendicular to the approach end, leaving a usable landing distance of 4,795 feet. The airport is equipped with a wind cone and a landing tee, and is serviced by UNICOM. The pilot stated that after the airplane landed, 'the wind picked the plane back up into the air far enough that I added some power so that we would not stall.' The pilot reported that the airplane 'may have bounced once again', but that in any event he decided to go around at this point and added power. However, he stated, 'the plane was very difficult to control and the plane was no longer over the runway, but off to the left side.' The pilot stated that the airplane's propeller then struck the ground, and that the airplane then slid 50 to 100 feet and its landing gear collapsed. The pilot reported that no mechanical malfunction or failure was involved. Reported winds at Redmond, Oregon, about 9 nautical miles north of the accident site, changed from out of 330 degrees at 16 knots at 1556 to out of 350 degrees at 16 knots, gusting to 23 knots, at 1656. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12