Amateur-built OWL RACER 65-2 accident near Reno, Nevada, September 15, 1987
On September 15, 1987 at about 9:30 pm local time, a amateur-built OWL RACER 65-2, registered N5JG, was destroyed in an accident near Reno, Nevada (Reno/Stead 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
- September 15, 1987 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Reno, Nevada · Reno/Stead · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built OWL RACER 65-2 OWL RACER
- Registration
- N5JG · no longer on the register · serial JM-1
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG A PRACTICE FLT IN A FORMULA ONE RACER BFR THE RENO AIR RACES, THE ENG LOST PWR AFTER 4 LAPS WHEN THE ACFT WAS AT AN ALT OF ABOUT 40' AGL. THE PLT MANEUVERED TO LND ON A RWY IN WINDS THAT WERE VARIABLE & GUSTY. A WITNESS RPRTD THE PLT MADE AN ABRUPT LEFT TURN, WHILE MANEUVERING TO LND, THEN THE ACFT 'APPEARED TO STALL, SNAP ROLL TO THE RIGHT AND DIVE VERTICALLY INTO THE GROUND.' NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FND DRG AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE. THE FUEL & OIL TANKS RUPTURED DRG IMPACT. NO EVIDENCE OF STAIN OR ODOR WAS NOTED & THE FUEL TANK WAS DRY; HOWEVER, 1 PERSON RPRTD HE WITNESSED THE 'DIP STICKING' OF THE FUEL TANK BFR THE ACDNT & SAID FUEL WAS AT THE 3/4 LVL. THE PLT HAD 3 YRS EXPERIENCE OF FLYING FORMULA ONE RACERS. ON THE ACDNT FLT HE WAS CHECKING A NEWLY INSTALLED ENG. ON THE DAY BFR THE ACDNT, HE MADE A DEAD-STICK LNDG AT THE SAME ARPT.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 5 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 121 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, September 1, 1987; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 900 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Jefferey Sawyer & CO.
The flight
- Departed from: 4SD at 9:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 32, 8,080 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:52 pm from RNO, 12 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.
Other NTSB records under N5JG the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.