Amateur-built CHRISTEN EAGLE II accident near Bend, Oregon, June 5, 1983
On June 5, 1983 at about 8:56 pm local time, a amateur-built CHRISTEN EAGLE II, registered N4GT, was destroyed in an accident near Bend, Oregon (Bend Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 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
- June 5, 1983 · about 8:56 pm local time
- Place
- Bend, Oregon · Bend Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built CHRISTEN EAGLE II CHRISTEN E
- Registration
- N4GT · registry record · serial T-0033
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
UPON COMPLETION OF HIS ROUTINE DURING AN AIRSHOW, THE PLT STATED TO THE SHOW ANNOUNCER THAT HE WOULD DO A LOW PASS DOWN THE RWY FOLLOWED BY A VERTICAL CLIMB TO A HAMMERHEAD STALL & THEN INTO A LOMCEVAK AEROBATIC MANEUVER. THIS MANEUVER IS ACLIMBING OUTSIDE SNAP ROLL THAT IS PERFORMED IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE ACFT'S UPWARD INERTIA OVERCOMES ITS NORMAL AERODYNAMIC SNAP ROLL TENDENCIES, CAUSING IT TO TUMBLE END-OVER-END BRIEFLY BEFORE IT DETERIORATES INTO A FLAT INVERTED SPIN. ENTRY INTO THE MANEUVER WITH ACFT SUCH AS THE EAGLE IIIS AT AN ALTITUDE OF AT LEAST 1,000 AGL AT SEA LEVEL. THE ENTRY ALTITUDE MUST BE INCREASED TO COMPENSATE FOR THE REDUCTION OF THE ACFT'S VERTICAL PENETRATION WHICH OCCURS WHEN THE MANEUVER IS PERFORMED AT HIGHER ALTITUDES. A VIDEOTAPE OF THE ACCIDENT SHOWED THAT THE PLT INITIATED THE MANEUVER ATA PULL-UP ALTITUDE OF 500-600 FT AGL. THE DENSITY ALTITUDE AT THE ALTITUDE THAT THE PLT ENTERED THE MANEUVER WAS 6,800 FT.
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: 1,022 hours in all; 366 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 930 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 366 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 31, 1983; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 3,803 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 45 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:55 pm from RDM, 15 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.