Amateur-built RV-4 accident near Sedona, Arizona, June 14, 1998
On June 14, 1998 at about 6:45 pm local time, a amateur-built RV-4, registered N813R, was destroyed in an accident near Sedona, Arizona. 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 attempt to perform aerobatics with insufficient terrain clearance altitude available to complete the maneuver. A factor was high density altitude.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 14, 1998 · about 6:45 pm local time
- Place
- Sedona, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RV-4
- Registration
- N813R · no longer on the register · serial RV4-813
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft impacted the side of a vertical outcropping of rock while performing aerobatic maneuvers. The pilot had told friends that he wanted to perform aviation stunts for other friends. One witness said that the aircraft appeared to have needed approximately 75 to 100 feet of additional altitude in order to complete the maneuver without contacting the ground. Other witnesses said the aircraft completed almost one complete loop before it contacted the terrain at the base of the mountain. The aircraft's engine could be heard throughout the loop. Density altitude was 5,853 feet.
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: 294 hours in all; 35 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 215 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 463 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 31, 1998; 120 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SEZ AZ at 6:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:56 pm from FLG, 18 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.