Amateur-built EVANS VP-1 accident near Kelso, Washington, May 27, 1986
On May 27, 1986 at about 6:30 pm local time, a amateur-built EVANS VP-1, registered N3764A, was destroyed in an accident near Kelso, Washington (Kelso airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. 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
- May 27, 1986 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Kelso, Washington · Kelso · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built EVANS VP-1
- Registration
- N3764A · registry record · serial WCA-1
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE DUE TO A LOSS OF POWER AT ABOUT 150 AGL DURING INITIAL CLIMB. THE ACFT WAS LANDED ON RAILROAD TRACKS WHERE IT WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT. THE REASON FOR THE POWER LOSS HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 347 hours in all; 3 in this make and model; 22 in the last 90 days; 458 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 5, 1986; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Volkswagen 1600 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KLS Kelso WA at 6:25 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°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.
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.