# NTSB WPR26FA262: Vans RV-4, N98GB, Yuba City, CA, July 16, 2026 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Field · Preliminary report - Date: July 16, 2026, 07:01 local (14:01 UTC) - Place: Yuba City, CA · just past the airport perimeter fence in an open lot - Coordinates: 39.130148, -121.60385 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.1301&lon=-121.6038&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Unknown](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/990) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Unknown: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Investigation ongoing - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 203407 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR26FA262 - NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/203407/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26FA262 ## Preliminary report On July 16, 2026, at 0701 Pacific daylight time, an experimental amateur built Vans RV-4, N98GB, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Yuba City, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. A review of recorded video from the Sutter County Airport, Yuba City, California, and a neighboring business, captured the airplane at various portions of the accident flight. One video showed the airplane departing runway 17 and then initiating a turn back to the airport. The airplane overshot runway 35 and traveled out of the frame of the camera. As the airplane traveled into view of a neighboring business’s video, it appeared the airplane was on the ground traveling in a northerly direction before it rotated along its vertical axis to the left about 270° and came to rest upright in an open field. The airplane’s first identified point of contact (FIPC) was the airport’s northern perimeter chain link fence. The debris field was about 230 ft in length, oriented on a 348° heading and consisted of portions of wooden propeller blades and the rudder. The airplane came to rest upright on a 056° heading and remained mostly intact. Flight control continuity was established from the cockpit to all the flight control surfaces. The airplane was recovered to a secure location for further examination. ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Unknown: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) (defining event); cases with it: [Binse Gerald R BINSE RV-4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md?model=05624LY), [All aircraft, 1,703 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Landing area overshoot](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/380); cases with it: [Binse Gerald R BINSE RV-4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/380/sequence.md?model=05624LY), [All aircraft, 400 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/380/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Binse Gerald R BINSE RV-4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=05624LY), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Aircraft - Registration: [N98GB](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N98GB), registered now, S/N 1470, built 1994 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: VANS RV-4 - Registry model: [Binse Gerald R BINSE RV-4](https://openairdocs.org/model/binse-gerald-r-binse-rv-4) (registry code 05624LY) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 1470 - Year built: 1994 - Airframe hours: 687.2 - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, January 31, 2026 - Airport: O52, Sutter County - Equipment: ADS-B, Electronic multifunction display ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 29.85 inHg - Observed at: KOVE, 22 nm away - METAR: METAR KOVE 161353Z AUTO 16007KT 10SM CLR 21/08 A2985 RMK AO2 SLP108 T02110083 ## 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 20260716009239A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260716009239A), Jul 16, 2026: Binse Gerald R BINSE RV-4, Yuba City, CA, Substantial damage, 1 fatal. Video from airport camera shows aircraft departed runway 17, climbed another 300 feet per ADS-B data, and immediately turned around to land. Aircraft touched… 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.