Pilot who crashed into Oregon home reported ‘controllability’ problems on maintenance test flight, NTSB says

A small plane on a test flight reported control problems before crashing Saturday into a Fairview townhome and killing three people, a federal investigator said Tuesday.

The fixed-wing, twin-engine Cessna took off from Troutdale Airport’s Runway 25 on a maintenance test flight shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday and the pilot soon reported “issues with controllability,” National Transportation Safety Board investigator Michael Hicks said.

A helicopter pilot reported that the plane had gone down in a residential area, Hicks said at a news conference outside the gated 190-home development. Hicks didn’t say what the control problems were.

The crash killed the pilot, a passenger and a woman on the ground.

Authorities haven’t released their names, but neighbors said 75-year-old Barbara Macdonald, who was asleep in her home on the second floor, was killed when the plane crashed into her house. Her husband was shopping at Costco at the time and wasn’t home.

The federal investigation could take up to 18 months, Hicks said. Two federal investigators remained on the scene, continuing to collect evidence, including the aircraft’s debris.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Hicks said.

The Troutdale Airport primarily serves as a base for flight schools and aircraft repair and maintenance facilities.

Pilots typically do a maintenance test flight after plane repairs to make sure all is operating as it’s supposed to, said Peter Knudson, an NTSB spokesperson. Controllability issues, he said, refer to the pilot’s challenge in controlling the aircraft, but much is still unknown about what happened in this case.

”We’re in such an early stage of the investigation that stuff’s not going to be clear yet,” Knudson said. Investigators will analyze such factors as weather forecasts, pilot experience, flight tracking data, air traffic control communications, maintenance records, witness statements and surveillance footage, he said.

”When an airplane comes down, oftentimes it will give you clues,” Knudson said. The federal agency will release a preliminary report within 30 days, he said.

Two people were on board the eight-seat plane, registered to Delaware-based Circle Capital Industrial IAC LLC, according to federal aviation records and air traffic control recordings. The company couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Shortly after takeoff, the tower controller asked about the plane, which was climbing at 1,700 feet, above what’s called the visual altitude restriction for pilots who are relying on visual cues and not instruments. The plane had been cleared to fly in a pattern around the airport, according to air traffic control radio recordings.

The tower controller instructed the pilot to descend to 1,200 feet. The pilot radioed to the tower that he was experiencing “handling problems,” according to the recordings. The controller warned the pilot of another Cessna flying northbound and cleared the plane to land on any runway, according to additional information from an online airline safety network.

The plane crashed about two miles southwest of the airport.

Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell said 911 calls came in about 10:20 a.m. Saturday and deputies found several homes on fire in the 21800 block of Northeast Heartwood Circle.

They went door-to-door to evacuate residents and grabbed garden hoses to put out flames until firefighters arrived, she said.

About 11 a.m., a sheriff’s deputy alerted dispatch that a piece of the plane had been located at one of the townhomes.

Sheriff’s detectives also responded to help contain the debris from the crash to help investigators and volunteer trauma-intervention workers arrived to help support victims of the crash.

The complex’s clubhouse was turned into a staging area Saturday and through the weekend, with water and food brought by other residents of the complex to help support the first responders.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our three community members,” Morrisey O’Donnell said. “And our hearts go out to the family and friends who are grieving this tragic loss. We are committed to supporting the families during this difficult time.”

As officials held the news conference outside the front gate of the Fairview Terrace development, a group of residents huddled nearby to try to glean the latest information from the investigation.

The plane apparently clipped a power line before slamming into the home of Barbara Macdonald and Kent Walton. Their house sits second from the end of a bank of about eight three-story homes and was the main point of impact.

Macdonald hadn’t slept well the night before and was sleeping in a little longer than usual, according to neighbors.

The two homes on either side of it were also destroyed, according to neighbors and Gresham Fire Chief Scott Lewis.

Tom Keegan, who has lived for 20 years next door to the townhouse where the plane hit, said his wife Judy Keegan had walked earlier in the morning to the complex clubhouse to help set up for a party planned there.

He said the back of their house suddenly was torn off by the plane’s initial impact and he saw “stuff blowing through the house” and wondered if his furnace had exploded.

A massive boom followed, he said. He was standing in a bathroom and the explosion knocked him off his feet into a wall above his bathtub and into the tub, where he landed on his side, he said.

“I looked around and there was fiberglass everywhere, like a snowstorm,” he said. He said he walked down the stairs of the house and out the door in his bare feet, and neighbors showed up to help him.

When he turned and looked at the home immediately next to his, he said, “the whole house was on fire.”

Judy Keegan said she wished she had awakened Barbara Macdonald when she got up earlier in the morning to walk to the clubhouse. The two have been best of friends — people often refer to them as “Lucy and Ethel,” she said.

“I was out on my patio, watering. I looked up in her bedroom,” Judy Keegan said. The bedroom’s lights were off, the curtains were closed and Macdonald’s husband had told her that Macdonald hadn’t slept well during the night, Judy Keegan said.

She let her friend and neighbor sleep. The two usually take care of the clubhouse, shop and travel together and enjoy gardening and beautifying their yards, the Keegans said.

Lewis said the aid from other fire departments, including Portland Fire & Rescue, Vancouver, Corbett, Clackamas and Port of Portland, “was critical” in ensuring the fire from the crash was “contained quickly” and didn’t “become exponentially worse.” Gresham fire had called a five-alarm response due to the intensity of the fire and risk of it spreading , he said.

Two people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Four power lines were damaged from the plane crash, knocking out electricity to about 9,500 customers. Portland General Electric crews worked through the day Saturday to reroute power to restore service to all customers by 3 p.m. that day, officials said.

Fairview Mayor Keith Kurdrna said he was heartened by the outpouring of help since the crash occurred. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who are injured, displaced or just affected by this tragic event,” he said.

At least a half a dozen small planes and larger commercial planes flew overheard while officials spoke at Tuesday’s news conference. They’re a common sight in the development and many residents don’t give them a second thought.

“It’s very unnerving now,” said resident Jan Johnson.

— Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X @maxoregonian, or on LinkedIn.

— Zaeem Shaikh of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report. He covers the Portland Police Bureau and criminal justice issues. Reach him at 503-221-4323, zshaikh@oregonian.com or @zaeemshake.

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