Jul. 12—An experimental aircraft that happened to crash near Hellgate Canyon at the same time a rafting outfitter was conducting water rescue training had only been in the air for about 10 minutes before the pilot started experiencing engine trouble.
Neither the pilot nor his passenger were injured when the plane, described as a kit-built Vans RV-8, crash-landed into the Rogue River outside Galice about 9:40 a.m. May 31, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Local rafting outfitter OARS, which was conducting training nearby, assisted with the pilot and passenger's rescue after the water landing, according to the Josephine County Sheriff's Office and Rural Metro Fire.
According to the NTSB, the plane took off from Runway 31 of the Grants Pass Airport at about 9:30 a.m. for a planned 20-minute flight.
The pilot reached an elevation of roughly 3,000 feet while he maneuvered over the river when he reportedly heard a "pop" come from the plane's engine compartment and lost power from the aircraft's Lycoming 0-320 series four-cylinder engine, according to the NTSB report on the crash.
The pilot was not named in the report, and the plane's N-number shows that the plane was deregistered from the federal database Monday.
The pilot tried adding full throttle, verified the mixture going to the engine was fuel rich, cycled the plane's magnetos (used to provide a spark on aircraft engines), and tried switching from the primary fuel tank to its reserve tank.
Despite the pilot's efforts to troubleshoot, the engine would not restart, the NTSB report states. The pilot set his sights on a place for an emergency landing.
The aircraft, with a tandem-style closed cockpit, was too high for an emergency landing on gravel bars in the immediate area, according to the report, so instead the pilot touched down in a calm current of the river just above Ennis Riffle, "near some exposed rocks," according to the report.
"The airplane settled on rocks and they sat on the canopy for about 15 minutes," the report states.
The pilot and passenger were uninjured, and swift-water rescue divers carried the pilot and passenger to the shore.
The aircraft was substantially damaged in the crash, according to the preliminary report. The pilot estimated that the plane had about 30 gallons of fuel on board at the time of the crash.
Reach web editor Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @MTwebeditor.
___
(c)2022 the Mail Tribune (Medford, Ore.)
Visit the Mail Tribune (Medford, Ore.) at www.mailtribune.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
