Amateur-built Ridge Runner II N825PB accident near Mulino, Oregon

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to attain an adequate airspeed that resulted in a stall/mush during the initial climb. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's lack of experience in this make and model airplane and the improper adjustment of the propeller pitch.

NTSB analysis

The pilot had recently purchased the amateur-built experimental airplane and received operating limitations from the Federal Aviation Administration for flight testing of the airplane. On the day of the accident, the pilot first performed taxi tests and then began taking off, climbing to about 10 feet above the ground, reducing power and landing back on the runway. The pilot completed a few of these runs and then taxied back onto the runway for another run. He advanced the throttle and noted that the tachometer only went to 4,000 rpm. The airplane lifted off the runway and climbed to about 150 feet above the ground. The pilot said it would not "climb higher or speed up." The airspeed was reading about 45 to 50 knots. The pilot started looking for a place to land and seeing obstacles ahead and to the left, he executed a shallow right turn back towards the airfield. The airplane stalled without notice and the pilot was not able to recover prior to ground impact. The airplane came to rest in a nose down position in a flat grassy field. The engine was displaced rearward, and the forward portion of the fuselage was crushed and compressed aft. The pilot reported that he had accumulated 240.7 hours total flight time of which 0 hours were in the accident make and model airplane. Following the accident, the propeller was found to be in "high pitch preventing the engine from turning up to more than 4,000 rpm, limiting the horsepower."

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR09LA052 for the full record.