# NTSB WPR13LA203: Hoffman RV-4, N194BD, Bullhead City, AZ, April 20, 2013 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 20, 2013, 07:20 local (14:20 UTC) - Place: Bullhead City, AZ - Coordinates: 35.161666, -114.558891 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1617&lon=-114.5589&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Unknown](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/990) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Unknown: Security/criminal event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/350) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report August 29, 2013 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 86688 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR13LA203 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/86688/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=86688 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13LA203 ## Probable cause The pilot’s suicidal act. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Intentional act: suicide](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015): Personnel issues › Miscellaneous · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Hoffman Donald W RV-4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015/cases.md?model=05624Z3), [All aircraft, 23 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Unknown: Security/criminal event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/350) (defining event); cases with it: [Hoffman Donald W RV-4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/350/sequence.md?model=05624Z3), [All aircraft, 27 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/350/sequence.md) ## Analysis The wreckage was located on airport property in the early morning hours having crashed under unknown circumstances. There were no witnesses to the accident. The medical examiner determined that the pilot died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and the manner of death was determined to be suicide. ## Factual narrative On April 20, 2013, between 0600 and 0720 mountain standard time, an experimental amateur built Hoffman RV-4, N194BD, crashed at Bullhead City Airport (IFP), Bullhead City, Arizona. The owner/pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The commercial pilot sustained fatal injuries as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound; the airplane sustained substantial damage by impact forces. The cross-country personal flight departed Cottonwood, Arizona, sometime after 0600 with an unknown destination. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed Airport personnel from IFP reported that during an airport safety sweep about 0720, they found the crashed airplane between the runway and the taxiway. They reported it was not present during the previous sweep at 0430. There were no identified witnesses to the airplane impact. A witness at Cottonwood Airport (P52), Cottonwood, reported that he heard what he believed to be N194BD depart sometime after 0600. He further stated the airplane was observed at the airport on Friday night. On April 22, 2013, the Mohave County medical examiner performed an autopsy on the pilot. It was determined that the pilot died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The manner of death was determined to be suicide. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N194BD](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N194BD-2015-05-08), registration cancelled 2015-05-08, S/N 3296, built 1994 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: HOFFMAN RV-4 - Registry model: [Hoffman Donald W RV-4](https://openairdocs.org/model/hoffman-donald-w-rv-4) (registry code 05624Z3) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O&VO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (registry code 41514, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 3296 - Engines: LYCOMING O-360-A1A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: P52, Cottonwood, AZ - Destination: Unknown - Flight plan: Unknown - Airport: IFP, Bullhead City Airport, runway 34, 7,500 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 44; injuries: fatal; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; toxicology performed; flight hours: 751 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 59 °F, dew point 12 °F - Altimeter: 29.97 inHg - Observed at: IFP ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20130420005169A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130420005169A), Apr 20, 2013: Hoffman Donald W RV-4, Bullhead City, AZ, Destroyed, 1 fatal. Accident occurred sometime between 0430 and 0720 local time. Pilot was incapacitated due to a fatal self inflicted gun shot wound to the head. Phase of flight,… ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 18, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=86688. 113 KB in all. - Toxicological Report (item 1, .PDF, 113 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40394727&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Toxicological%20Report-Master.PDF 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. --- 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.