Event WPR14LA338

Factual narrative

On August 10, 2014, about 1220 Pacific daylight time, a Nelson RV-3M airplane, N43AZ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near North Plains, Oregon. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that, after a thorough preflight inspection, he taxied the airplane to the run-up area with the right fuel tank selected. He then switched to the left fuel tank for the run-up process, and all indications were normal. He then switched back to the right fuel tank and took off. When the airplane reached about 200 ft above ground level, he made a left turn, and the engine power reduced to about 1,000 rpm. The pilot chose to initiate a precautionary landing to a field during which the landing gear folded up beneath and into the bottom of the wings that resulted in substantial damaged to both wings and the fuselage. Subsequently, the airplane slid about 100 yards before coming to a rest. One inch of fuel was found in the left-wing fuel tank, and no fuel was found in the right-wing fuel tank. Evidence was found that fuel had drained out of the airplane. The pilot reported that, after a thorough preflight inspection, he taxied the airplane to the run-up area with the right fuel tank selected. He then switched to the left fuel tank for the run-up, and all indications were normal. He then switched back to the right fuel tank and took off for the personal cross-country flight. When the airplane reached about 200 ft above ground level, he made a left turn. Subsequently, the engine power reduced to about 1,000 rpm. The pilot chose to initiate a precautionary landing to a field during which the landing gear folded up beneath and into the bottom of the wings that resulted in substantial damaged to both wings and the fuselage. Subsequently the airplane slid about 100 yards before coming to rest. Although only about 1 inch of fuel was found in the left-wing fuel tank, and no fuel was found in the right-wing fuel tank, there was evidence that fuel had drained out of the airplane; thus, fuel exhaustion was unlikely. Based on the available information, the reason for the partial loss of engine power could not be determined. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• — Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined