Amateur-built CHRISTEN EAGLE accident near Brigham City, Utah, October 11, 1999
On October 11, 1999 at about 4:40 pm local time, a amateur-built CHRISTEN EAGLE, registered N24JT, was destroyed in an accident near Brigham City, Utah. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inability to maintain aircraft control due to an unknown physical impairment.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 11, 1999 · about 4:40 pm local time
- Place
- Brigham City, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built CHRISTEN EAGLE CHRISTEN E
- Registration
- N24JT · no longer on the register · serial 0001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed for his usual 20 minute aerobatic routine. Radar data indicates that after 8 minutes of aerobatics, the pilot turned to a heading of approximately 120 degrees to return home. Two minutes later, the airplane entered a descending right hand turn, descended 2,000 feet, and impacted the water on a heading of 220 degrees. The pilot was within good radio communication range of several FAA ATC organizations, but no communication from the pilot was heard. The airplane's canopy was equipped with a quick release for emergency airborne jettisoning. The pilot was found wearing a parachute. The pilot's wife said that during the previous year, the 78 year old pilot had been rendered unconscious on two separate occasions by blows to his head. No preimpact engine or airframe anomalies, which might have affected the airplane's performance, were identified.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 27,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 860 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 5, 1999; 123 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,572 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming AEIO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OGD Ogden UT at 4:19 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 16 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:50 pm from OGD, 38 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.