Amateur-built EAST RISER accident near Cloverdale, California, August 25, 1984
On August 25, 1984 at about 6:55 pm local time, a amateur-built EAST RISER (ultralight), registered UNREG, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cloverdale, California. It was a personal flight under ultralight rules (Part 103). 1 person was killed. 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
- August 25, 1984 · about 6:55 pm local time
- Place
- Cloverdale, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built EAST RISER
- Registration
- UNREG · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · ultralight rules (Part 103)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ULTRALIGHT WAS OBSERVED BY WITNESSES ON THE DOWNWIND LEG OF THE TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR LANDING. THE ACFT WAS FLYING LEVEL AT ABOUT 300 FT AGL WHEN IT STARTED A SERIES OF ROLLER-COASTER MANEUVERS WHICH INCREASED INTO A STEEP ASCENT AND NOSE OVER FOLLOWED BY A DESCENDING DIVE INTO THE GROUND. THE ENGINE NOISE, WHICH SOUNDED AS IF IT WERE AT FULL POWER, DID NOT CHANGE NOR DID ANY OF THE OBSERVERS SEE ANY OBJECTS FALL FROM THE ACFT. A PARACHUTE WORN BY THE PLT WAS NOT DEPLOYED. POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE DID NOT REVEAL ANY PREIMPACT FAILURES OF THE AIRFRAME OR ENGINE. THE AUTOPSY DID NOT REVEAL ANY PREIMPACT CONDITIONS WHICH WOULD HAVE INTERFERED WITH THE PLTS CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE.
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
- Flight time: 100 hours in all; 40 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 20 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 175 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cuyuna ULRR215 17725 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Healdsburg CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds; not recorded
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under UNREG the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.