Amateur-built RV-4 accident near Sonoma, California, November 3, 1985
On November 3, 1985, a amateur-built RV-4, registered N489R, was destroyed in an accident near Sonoma, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were 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
- November 3, 1985
- Place
- Sonoma, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RV-4
- Registration
- N489R · no longer on the register · serial 489
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED INTO THE GROUND FROM ABOUT 250 FT AFTER A STALL FOLLOWING A DIVE & LEVEL OFF. TWO WITNESSES SAW THE ACC AND ONE BELIEVED THE PLT WAS LOOKING FOR HIM OR TRYING TO GET HIS ATTENTION BECAUSE THE PLT KNEW THE WITNESS' TRUCK AND WHERE HE WOULD BE. BOTH WITNESSES SAID THAT THE ACFT WENT 'STRAIGHT IN' TO THE GROUND. ONE ESTIMATED THE STARTING HEIGHT OF THE FATAL DIVE AT 250 FT, WITH THE WINGS ROCKING UP & DOWN. THE OTHER SAID IT APPEARED TO BE AT ABOUT 300-400 FT AGL COMING OUT OF A TURN WHEN IT THEN JUST WENT 'STRAIGHT IN'.
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: 115 hours in all; 28 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Unknown (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 60 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, August 7, 1985; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 009 Sonoma CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.