Amateur-built Skybolt accident near Reno, Nevada, March 17, 2004
On March 17, 2004 at about 3:20 pm local time, a amateur-built Skybolt, registered N41BB, was destroyed in an accident near Reno, Nevada (Reno/Stead airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure of the left wing spar during an aerobatic maneuver.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 17, 2004 · about 3:20 pm local time
- Place
- Reno, Nevada · Reno/Stead · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Skybolt
- Registration
- N41BB · registry record · serial 1
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft broke up in flight while the pilot was executing an aerobatic outside loop maneuver. While inverted and pushing forward on the stick to about -2.5G to start the ascending part of the maneuver, the airplane began to vibrate violently. The pilot felt the vibration in the airframe, not in the stick or the rudder. He felt the vibration for 1 to 2 seconds, followed by the left wing of the airplane detaching from the airplane's structure. During the airplane's continued disintegration, the pilot was able to release his seat belt and exit the airplane. The pilot deployed his parachute, which opened just prior to his reaching the ground. The aircraft was destroyed by a post impact ground fire. The airplane was constructed out of wood in 1975 and, according to the accident airplane's records and the pilot's statement, it had been more than 20 years since the wings had undergone any extensive inspection, repair, or rebuild with the fabric removed.
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: 190 hours in all; 49 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 144 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 31, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 815 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, June 1, 2003; 65 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 4SD Reno NV at 2:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.23 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 pm from RNO, 14 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.