Hot day, altitude snag visiting plane

A small single engine plane with two occupants crashed on take-off from Sisters Eagle Air airport on August 22 at about 12:30 in the afternoon.

Rick McReynolds, 31, of Lebanon was the student pilot flying with instructor Donald Dodd, 30, of Harrisburg. The 1979 Piper Tomahawk PA-38-112 was owned by Jack Healy, operator of the airport in Lebanon, Oregon.

Both occupants were flown to St. Charles Medical Center by Air Life from the scene of the crash. On Monday, August 26, Dodd was still in St. Charles in fair condition with a fractured right ankle and left foot, facial lacerations and a head injury.

McReynolds was discharged on Sunday. He suffered a fractured right wrist, ankle and back injuries and facial lacerations.

According to witnesses, the plane was departing to the northeast. The pilot was an exceptionally large man, and the instructor was also larger than average. It was estimated that together the two weighed as much as 460 pounds.

The two passenger plane has a maximum load rating of about 580 pounds, including fuel.

The temperature was about 85 degrees, which can reduce aircraft performance at higher altitude airports like Sisters. Flaps were partially deployed. The 112-horsepower plane hit the ground less than a half mile from the end of the runway.

According to the Deschutes County Sheriff's office, the aircraft "did not have enough power to pass over the hill. The plane made a turn to the northwest for another exit. Due to onboard weight and weather conditions, the plane stalled with the right wing impacting the ground first and then nosed into the ground. Upon impact the plane spun 180 degrees, facing in a southeasterly direction..."

Plane owner Jack Healy said McReynolds and Dodd were on an instructional cross country at the time of the accident.

The last serious crash in Sisters, on September 29, 1991, occurred under similar conditions. Three people died and one was seriously injured in an amphibious Lake 250 single engine aircraft that departed at about 12:25 p.m. Witnesses to that accident said the plane seemed to be running at full power, but climbed very slowly.

The temperature that day five years ago was also in the mid 80s, and an instructor was also on board.

Before receiving a license, pilots are trained and tested on their knowledge of how temperature, barometric pressure and altitude, together known as "density altitude," affect aircraft performance. Manuals required to be on every airplane for every flight describe performance characteristics of that airplane for different density altitudes.

The listed altitude at Sisters is 3,200 feet. On Thursday at about the time of the accident, the density altitude "seen" by the aircraft was more than 5,400 feet.