Upright RV-7A accident near McMinnville, OR
On December 11, 2003, an Upright RV-7A (airplane) was involved in an accident near McMinnville, OR. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 11, 2003
- Place
- McMinnville, OR
- Aircraft
- Upright RV-7A · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 45.259°N, 123.300°W
- NTSB ID
- 20031222X02074
NTSB summary
On December 11, 2003, approximately 1225 Pacific standard time, an experimental Upright RV-7A, N29CV, impacted the terrain about seven miles west of McMinnville, Oregon. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, received fatal injuries, and the aircraft, which is owned and operated by the pilot, was destroyed. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed Independence State Airport, Independence, Oregon, about 25 minutes earlier, was being operated in an area where the pilot's visual contact with the ground was not possible because of a solid low-level cloud deck. No flight plan had been filed. The aircraft had been part of a flight of two. According to the pilot of the other aircraft (N296DJ), the two pilots decided to fly somewhere for lunch, but made the decision to wait until they could have an airborne view of the local weather before making their final choice of a destination. After takeoff, they climbed to an altitude where they could evaluate the weather, and then believing it looked best to the north, decided to head for Flying M Ranch, Yamhill, Oregon. The pilot of N296DJ lead the way using the tracking function of his global positioning system (GPS). As they headed north, the scattered cloud layer that was about 1,000 feet above the ground started to become thicker, so they climbed to 2,500 feet indicated. As they headed further north this layer became broken, and then it eventually changed to a solid undercast. They were then flying between this low layer and an overcast that was reportedly around 4,000 feet above the ground (agl). They even
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. Cloudy weather, continued flight into adverse weather, inadequate preflight planning and mountainous terrain were factors.
More accidents in OR
- Cessna T207A, Aug 21, 1986
- Piper PA-28-180, Sep 1, 1984
- Piper PA-28RT-201, Mar 12, 1984
- Piper PA 46-310P, Apr 7, 2017
- Cessna 172, Jun 23, 2012
Browse: Oregon
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
