Amateur-built RV-4 accident near Gatesville, Texas, November 23, 1985
On November 23, 1985 at about 6:15 pm local time, a amateur-built RV-4, registered N448RV, was destroyed in an accident near Gatesville, Texas (Gatesville City - County airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 23, 1985 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Gatesville, Texas · Gatesville City - County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RV-4
- Registration
- N448RV · registry record · serial 448
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES AFTER PERFORMING AEROBATIC MANEUVERS. THE PIC SAID THAT THE PASS'G/PLT HAD FLOWN THE LAST PART OF THE FLT. FOLLOWING A MANEUVER AT APRX 500 FT AGL, THE ACFT WAS MANEUVERED INTO A CLIMBING LEFT TURN DURING WHICH IT CONTINUED TO ROLL UNTIL INVERTED. THE PASS'G/PLT, ACCORDING TO THE PIC, REDUCED POWER AND TRIED TO PULL THE ACFT NOSE THROUGH THE DIVE TO RECOVERY. DURING THE BOTTOM OF THE MANEUVER THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES. THE WINGS WERE SEPARATED FROM THE ACFT BY THE COLLISION WITH THE TREES AFTER WHICH THE ACFT NOSED DOWN INTO THE GROUND.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 239 hours in all; 25 in this make and model; 13 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 239 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 50 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 10, 1985; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-320-EZA (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: O5F Gatesville TX at 6:00 pm
- Destination: O5F Gatesville TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 3,400 ft by 50 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.