Amateur-built TALON XP accident near Redmond, Oregon, May 2, 1997
On May 2, 1997 at about 10:15 pm local time, a amateur-built TALON XP, registered N6291X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Redmond, Oregon. It was a personal flight 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
incomplete installation (omission of the aft control stick and interlink tube) of the flight control system, resulting in failure of the combined (torque) elevator and aileron rod and a disconnection of the forward flight control stick from the ailerons and elevators.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 2, 1997 · about 10:15 pm local time
- Place
- Redmond, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built TALON XP
- Registration
- N6291X · no longer on the register · serial 115XP
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The owner/builder (pilot) of the kitplane had accrued approximately 70 hours of operating time on the aircraft. During a flight, he began to lose aileron control. Shortly after entering downwind for landing, all aileron and elevator control were lost, and the pilot actuated the aircraft's ballistic parachute. Postcrash examination revealed that the pilot had installed only the forward flight control stick and torque tube, and had not installed either the rear flight control stick nor the interlink tube. This absence resulted in a structurally weakened control system and subsequent disconnect of the forward flight control stick from the torque tube in torsional overload. There was no caution note within the kitplane assembly instructions advising the builder that failure to install either the aft control stick and/or interlink tube would result in a compromise of the structural integrity of the fore and aft stick, torque tube and interlink tube assembly.
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: 148 hours in all; 30 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 116 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 70 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 22, 1997; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 432 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 582CDI (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 6K5 Sisters OR at 9:43 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:14 pm from RDM, 94 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.