- Date
- June 5, 1983, 13:56 local (20:56 UTC)
- Place
- Bend, OR
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4GTHomebuilt Christen Eagle II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830605022549A
- Case key
- 39646
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Upon completion of his routine during an airshow, the plt stated to the show announcer that he would do a low pass down the rwy followed by a vertical climb to a hammerhead stall & then into a lomcevak aerobatic maneuver. This maneuver is aclimbing outside snap roll that is performed in such a way that the acft's upward inertia overcomes its normal aerodynamic snap roll tendencies, causing it to tumble end-over-end briefly before it deteriorates into a flat inverted spin. Entry into the maneuver with acft such as the eagle iiis at an altitude of at least 1,000 AGL at sea level. The entry altitude must be increased to compensate for the reduction of the acft's vertical penetration which occurs when the maneuver is performed at higher altitudes. A videotape of the accident showed that the plt initiated the maneuver ata pull-up altitude of 500-600 ft AGL. The density altitude at the altitude that the plt entered the maneuver was 6,800 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4GT
- Reported as
- Homebuilt Christen Eagle II (CHRISTEN E)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- T-0033
- Airframe hours
- 366
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Gerald Virgil Thom
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 31, 1983 · 45 hours before
- Airport
- S07 · Bend Muni, runway 34, 3,803 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 46
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,022 total · 366 in this make and model · 930 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 45 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RDM, 15 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.