Amateur-built One Design accident near Madras, Oregon, June 25, 2005
On June 25, 2005 at about 8:33 pm local time, a amateur-built One Design, registered N555TE, was destroyed in an accident near Madras, Oregon (City-County airport). 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 failure to maintain altitude/clearance from terrain while performing aerobatics which resulted in a collision with the ground.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 25, 2005 · about 8:33 pm local time
- Place
- Madras, Oregon · City-County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built One Design
- Registration
- N555TE · no longer on the register · serial 0239
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was practicing aerobatic maneuvers in the single-seat experimental airplane when the accident occurred. Witnesses observed the pilot make a low pass down the runway and then enter a vertical ascent. The airplane climbed to about 1,500 feet agl, at which point the pilot placed the airplane in a flat spin. After completing 4 to 5 rotations, the pilot recovered from the spin. The witnesses estimated that after the spin recovery, the airplane was at an altitude between 70 and 200 feet agl. The airplane continued to descend, impacted the ground, exploded and was consumed by fire. An on scene examination of the wreckage by an FAA inspector found no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical discrepancies.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,000 hours in all; 900 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 1,355 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-C1EG (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: S33 Madras OR
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.87 inHg
- Observation at 8:56 pm from RDM, 25 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.