# Accident 19971026039929A: Amtr RV4, Scio, OR, October 26, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 26, 1997, 15:50 local time
- Place: Scio, OR
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.6794° N, 122.7597° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.6794&lon=-122.7597&mi=10
- Aircraft: N160HB, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N160HB-2021-07-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beckham Steve RV-4 (registry code 056088R, https://openairdocs.org/model/beckham-steve-rv-4) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR RV4
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA98LA008](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA008) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971026039929A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

AT CRUISE NOSED UP ROLLED OVER. DESCENDED TO IMPACT VERTICALLY. AGED PILOT SANS MEDICAL POSSIBLE INCOMPACITATION. (.4) THE 64 YEAR-OLD PRIVATE PILOT, WHOSE THIRD CLASS MEDICAL HAD EXPIRED IN AUGUST 1995, DEPARTED IN AN RV-4 EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT APPROXIMATELY 1530, AND WAS OBSERVED BY ANOTHER PILOT FLYING A CESSNA 170 NEAR THE CRASH SITE ABOUT 20 MINUTES LATER. THE EYEWITNESS PILOT 'NOTICED AN RV AIRCRAFT COMING UP ON MY LEFT SIDE. I WAGGED MY WINGS AND HE WAGGED HIS WINGS BACK. HE THEN PROCEEDED TO PASS ME ON MY LEFT, WHEN HE WAS APPROXIMATELY AT MY 11 O'CLOCK (POSITION), HE EXECUTED A ROLL TO THE LEFT. AT THE INVERTED STAGE OF THE ROLL THE AIRCRAFT DOVE STRAIGHT INTO THE GROUND' (FROM AN ELEVATION OF APPROXIMATELY 750 AGL). AN FAA INSPECTOR EXAMINED THE WRECKAGE AND REPORTED THAT A CONTROL SYSTEM CHECK REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL DISCONNECT OR MALFUNCTION. A DEPUTY FROM THE LINN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, WHO INTERVIEWED THE PILOT'S WIFE, REPORTED THAT SHE HAD TOLD HIM THAT 'HER HUSBAND HAS BEEN HAVE(ING) REAL BAD MIGRAINE HEADACHES THAT WOULD LEAVE HIM INCAPACITATED.' SHE ALSO TOLD THE DEPUTY THAT 'HE WOULD BLACKOUT, AND GET TUNNEL VISION' AND THAT 'SOMETIMES THEY (THE MIGRAINES) WOULD GET SO BAD, HE COULD NOT TALK.'

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB SEA98LA008](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA008), Oct 26, 1997: Beckham RV-4 (N160HB), Scio, OR, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot-in-command's loss of control of the aircraft for undetermined reasons.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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