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WPR20CA254

2020-07-22 · Clearwater, Oregon, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 3S6

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's improper pitch attitude during the soft-field landing roll, which resulted in the tail striking the runway.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that he touched down on the rough, turf surface runway and utilized a soft-field landing technique. He recalled, that during the landing roll, he held the nose landing gear off the runway until the airplane's groundspeed decreased to 20 knots. Shortly after contacting the ground, the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane's aft fuselage was substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that he touched down on the rough, turf surface runway and utilized a soft-field landing technique. He recalled, that during the landing roll, he held the nose landing gear off the runway until the airplane's groundspeed decreased to 20 knots. Shortly after contacting the ground, the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane's aft fuselage was substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface-Soft surface-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_WPR20CA254.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type. All research papers