Amateur-built VANS RV-6 accident near Woods Cross, Utah, June 20, 1997
On June 20, 1997 at about 1:30 am local time, a amateur-built VANS RV-6, registered N345JE, was substantially damaged in an accident near Woods Cross, Utah (Bountiful Skypark airport). 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
a bird strike, which penetrated the aircraft canopy. High grass (hay crop) in the forced landing area was a related factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 20, 1997 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- Woods Cross, Utah · Bountiful Skypark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VANS RV-6
- Registration
- N345JE · registry record · serial 20847
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After initiating a go-around at 100 feet above ground level, the aircraft struck a bird on the pilot's side of the aircraft canopy. The bird penetrated the canopy and struck the pilot's face. The pilot retarded power and cleared his vision, and decided he would not be able to land without overrunning the runway into fences and deep ditches. He attempted to continue the go-around, but then noted an increase in aircraft vibration. He therefore elected to land the aircraft in a hay field just beyond the departure end of the runway. The grass was approximately 2 feet high in the forced landing field. The airplane flipped over during the forced landing.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,128 hours in all; 395 in this make and model; 51 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 1,058 as pilot in command; 225 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 483 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 25, 1996; 41 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BTF Bountiful UT at 1:00 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34, 4,425 ft by 70 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 81°F (27°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.
Other NTSB records under N345JE 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.