# Accident 19990710008619A: Amtr VANSRV8, Lafayette, OR, July 10, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 10, 1999, 15:20 local time
- Place: Lafayette, OR
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 45.2407° N, 123.1103° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.2407&lon=-123.1103&mi=10
- Aircraft: N41VA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N41VA-2013-04-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Alexander Von VANS RV-8 (registry code 05606O4, https://openairdocs.org/model/alexander-von-vans-rv-8) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-360-A1D (registry code 41504, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-360-a1d) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR VANSRV8
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA99FA113](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA99FA113) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990710008619A

## Narrative

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

ACFT CRASHED AND BURNED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE PILOT/SOLE OCCUPANT SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES, THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED. (FROM .19)  ON JULY 10, 1999, APPROXIMATELY 1520 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A VANS RV-8 HOMEBUILT AIRCRAFT, N41VA, CONSTRUCTED BY/REGISTERED TO AND BEING FLOWN BY A PRIVATE PILOT, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN DURING AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT PRECEDED BY AN IN-FLIGHT FIRE DURING DESCENT ONE NAUTICAL MILE NORTH OF LAFAYETTE, OREGON.  THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS EXISTED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN ACTIVATED.  THE FLIGHT, WHICH WAS PERSONAL, WAS TO HAVE BEEN OPERATED UNDER 14CFR91, AND ORIGINATED FROM ARLINGTON, WASHINGTON, EARLIER ON THE DATE OF THE ACCIDENT.  A FUEL STOP HAD BEEN MADE AT SCAPPOOSE, OREGON, APPROXIMATELY 1445 HOURS. WITNESSES REPORTED OBSERVING THE AIRCRAFT EASTBOUND AND IN A SHALLOW DESCENT APPROXIMATELY 200-300 FEET ABOVE GROUND TRAILING BLACK SMOKE.  ONE WITNESS REPORTED OBSERVING FLAMES COMING FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND THE PILOT EXITING THE AIRCRAFT.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED TO EXECUTE A RIGHT SPIRALING DESCENT, IMPACTING THE GROUND IN A NEAR VERTICAL ATTITUDE.  THE PILOT WAS FOUND SEVERAL HUNDRE D YARDS NORTH OF THE AIRCRAFT'S GROUND IMPACT SITE. A POST-CRASH FIRE CONSUMED MUCH OF THE AIRCRAFT.                                                 (-23)A/C EXPERIENCED IN FLIGHT FIRE. PILOT WAS OBSERVED BY WITNESS TO BE EXITING A/C AT APPROX. 200-300 FEET. THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. A POST-CRASH INVESTIGATION REVEALED EVIDENCE OF FIRE COMING FROM ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THE LEFT WHEEL FERRING WAS SCORCHED ON ONE SIDE GIVING MORE EVIDENCE OF PRE-IMPACT FIRE. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED PARTIAL ENGINE FAILURE PRIOR TO INFLIGHT FIRE.

## 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 SEA99FA113](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA99FA113), Jul 10, 1999: Alexander VAN'S RV-8 (N41VA), Lafayette, OR, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: Fatigue of the number two connecting rod end resulting in a fracture at the rod end and release from the crankshaft, an ensuing in-flight fuel fed fire, followed by the pilot's abandoning the…

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.