Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Brooks, Oregon 97305
Tuesady, December 2, 2003 15:00 PST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Three witnesses said they observed the aircraft flying overhead and hearing a problem with the engine, as if it were cutting in and out. Two additional witnesses reported hearing the engine open all the way and at full throttle before seeing it nose dive into a set of power lines, subsequently impacting the ground. A sixth witness said he observed the airplane flying low with the engine having a low pitch sound before flying overhead and pitching to the right into a dive. A seventh witness observed the aircraft flying between 500 and 600 feet above ground level before observing it rise to an extremely high [pitch] angle, rolling over on its back, and plunging to the ground after hitting power lines. The aircraft came to rest on its left side with its wings and fuselage twisted. There was no post crash fire. A post-accident examination of the engine and airframe revealed no anomalies which would have prevented normal operations. It was confirmed by a family member that at the time of the accident the uncertificated pilot took two types of insulin daily and was taking five prescription medications for various medical conditions. Medical records indicate the pilot had a history of coronary heart disease, having undergone quintuple heart bypass surgery in 1999. The pilot was also diabetic, having been insulin dependant since 1977. Post-accident toxicology testing revealed the presence of multiple medications, including two prescription antidepressants detected in the blood and liver, and one over-the-counter antihistamine medication detected in the blood and liver. As recently as 5 weeks prior to the accident, medical records indicate the pilot suffered from memory lapses and dangerously low blood sugar.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The failure of the pilot to maintain aircraft control while maneuvering due to a hypoglycemic condition.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/2/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1500 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Standard Time |
| Event City | Brooks |
| Event State | OREGON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 97305 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 450250N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1225720W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1456 Pacific Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 190 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SLE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 214 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 8 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 5786 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5786 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Thin Broken |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 200 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.11 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16193 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Seattle Regional Operations Ce |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 2 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1540 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 1 2004 7:08AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Hillsboro, Oregon |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N183T |
| NTSB Number | SEA04LA024 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Shear |
| Aircraft Model | Titan Tornado |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | T93277SOHK0065 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 550 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | David J. Shear |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Corvallis |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97333 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Thomas E. Ryon |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Salem |
| Operator State | OR |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 97305 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Salem |
| Departure State | OR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 25 2004 1:41PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |