SEA94LA246

After having been missing for 23 months, an unregistered homebuilt airplane, occupied by a non-certificated pilot and a passenger, was found by hunters in mountainous terrain. The terrain was covered with trees in excess of two hundred feet in height. The airplane was found nose down and inverted on steep terrain. At the time of the accident, search and rescue personnel reported that a storm front had moved through the area. The non-certificated pilot had been checked out in the airplane under provisions of 14 CFR 103, about three weeks before the accident. A second seat had been temporarily installed in the airplane for the pilot's checkout; the second seat was to have been removed after the checkout, so the airplane could be operated as an ultralight vehicle. The pilot had accumulated approximately 17 hours total flight time at the time of the accident.

On November 13, 1993, approximately 1600 Pacific standard time, an unregistered Flake Talon XP was reported missing. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was not located until October 7, 1995, 11 miles east of Estacada, Oregon. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the non-certificated pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. The flight had originated from Oregon City Airpark, Oregon City, Oregon, on November 13, 1993, approximately 1200.

On the day of the accident, witnesses saw the aircraft land and refuel at Sandy, Oregon, around 1500. The aircraft, then took off to the southeast and did not return. Search and rescue personnel searched the area for several days. Search personnel reported that a storm front moved through the area around 1645.

Hunters found the wreckage in an area that was heavily wooded on steep mountainous terrain at the 3,180 foot level. The Clackamas County Sheriff's Department notified the National Transportation Safety Board of the accident on October 13, 1995. Personnel from the Sheriff's Department responded to the site and reported that the aircraft was positioned nose down and inverted alongside a small tree. The surrounding densely populated trees measured in height in excess of two hundred feet. The propeller blades displayed nicks along the leading edge.

The person who sold the kit to the pilot/owner and who also checked the pilot out in the aircraft approximately three weeks before the accident, reported that the aircraft was completed in July 1993. This person estimated that the pilot had accumulated approximately 17 hours total time with about eight hours of solo time. This person also stated that the second seat was temporarily installed for the purpose of flight instruction, under the provisions of 14 CFR 103. After the check-out, the second seat was to be removed so the aircraft could be operated as an ultralight vehicle under 14 CFR Part 103.