Porto Risen 915iSV, N2442, fatal accident occurred on July 28, 2023, near Dawson Community Airport (GDV/KGDV), Glendive, Montana

• Location: Glendive, Montana
• Accident Number: WPR23FA286 
• Date & Time: July 28, 2023, 14:10 Local 
• Registration: N2442 Aircraft: RISEN 915 iS 
• Aircraft Damage: Destroyed 
• Defining Event: Loss of control in flight 
• Injuries: 1 Fatal Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal 

https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/192733/pdf

https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=192733

On July 28, 2023, about 1410 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Risen 915 iS, N2442, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Glendive, Montana. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight in his experimental, amateur-built airplane, and the accident occurred on day nine of the flight.

The airport manager at the departure airport reported that he assisted the pilot with fueling the airplane with about 15 gallons of fuel. He reported that the engine sounded like it was at full power during takeoff; however, the airplane appeared to climb slower than he expected to about 300-400 ft above ground level (agl). The main landing gear were up but the nose gear appeared to be partially extended and had not completely retracted. He watched the airplane maintain a low altitude at a low airspeed until he observed a “wing drop,” and the airplane subsequently made two turns in a “flat spin” with about a 45-60° nose-down attitude as it descended behind terrain.

Postaccident examination revealed no anomalies with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. Damage signatures and witness accounts indicated that the engine was producing power at the time of the accident. The debris path was consistent with a steep impact angle.

Evidence suggests that the pilot failed to maintain airspeed during the climb, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall/spin. The pilot had texted the aircraft kit manufacturer that he was having problems with the engine overheating; however, had made modifications to the cooling system that appeared to be successful, according to his texts with the owner of a similar airplane. The airplane’s emergency parachute was found deployed at the accident site. Since the parachute was unfurled, it is likely that the parachute deployment was the result of ground contact.

Evidence suggests that the pilot failed to maintain airspeed during the climb, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall/spin. The nose landing gear did not retract fully after takeoff. Although this may have created a distraction for the pilot that resulted in a loss of airspeed while he was troubleshooting the nose landing gear retraction, the investigation was not able to determine the reason for the pilot’s loss of control.

- Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall/spin.

Loss of control in flight: Steen Skybolt, N202GM, fatal accident occurred on June 8, 2023, near Rio Vista Municipal Airport (O88), Rio Vista, California

• Location: Rio Vista, California 
• Accident Number: WPR23FA219 
• Date & Time: June 8, 2023, 11:24 Local 
• Registration: N202GM 
• Aircraft: Steen Skybolt 
• Aircraft Damage: Substantial 
• Defining Event: Loss of control in flight 
• Injuries: 2 Fatal 
• Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/192338/pdf

https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=192338

On June 08, 2023, about 1124 Pacific daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built Steen Skybolt, N202GM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Rio Vista, California. The two pilots were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The two pilots, both of whom were owners of the airplane, were returning to their home airport. Radar track information correlated to the accident airplane was consistent with the airplane departing and continuing southwest toward the destination airport before it turned south toward the accident airport. The airplane joined the left downwind leg of the traffic pattern (right traffic was specified for this runway), and after turning onto a base leg, made a sharp left turn and spiraled toward terrain, consistent with an aerodynamic stall. 

A witness reported hearing one of the pilots transmit "engine out" or "simulated engine-out"; however, the airport’s common traffic advisory frequency was not recorded, and the content of this transmission could not be confirmed. The witness also stated that the airplane crossed over the airport to join the traffic pattern and that the engine sounded normal.

Examination of the engine revealed continuity of the valve and drive train and compression in each of the cylinders. Removal of the cylinders revealed light scratches and corrosion of the combustion chambers and barrels. The intake and exhaust valves were intact and undamaged; the No. 3 exhaust valve was consistent in appearance with exposure to high temperatures. Severe spalling was noted on the faces of the camshaft intake lifters and several exhaust lifters; the camshaft lobes did not appear rounded. Although visual examination of the oil filter media did not reveal any metallic debris, microscopic inspection revealed metal particles, and there were several small pieces of metal in the oil suction screen. It is unlikely that any of these findings would result in a total loss of engine power. There was evidence of fuel in the fuel system.

A video recorded about five months before the accident was recovered from an iPad owned by one of the pilots. The video indicated that the airplane had recently exhibited problems with the trim system leading to the airplane oscillating and “throwing the elevator up and down.” A modification was made to the trim system sometime after the pilots purchased the airplane about seven months before the accident; however, there was no record of this modification in the available maintenance records. At the accident site, the right trim tab was sheared off at the piano hinge and came to rest under the elevator, yet remained connected to the bellcranks and was continuous to the fuselage bellcrank. When attempting to move to nose-down trim, the control cable could not move to that position because the cable would bind on the sleeve and not move over the attach fitting. Whether the modified trim system caused a problem inflight and what effect it may have had on the control surface and airplane’s controllability could not be determined.

The circumstances of the pilots’ decision to land at the accident airport could not be determined; however, based on the available information, it is likely that they exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack while maneuvering for landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control at an altitude too low for recovery.

- Probable Cause: The pilots’ exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack while maneuvering to land, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent loss of control.

Cessna 414, N414BA, fatal accident occurred on June 8, 2025, near San Diego, California

• Location: San Diego, CA 
• Accident Number: WPR25FA169 
• Date & Time: June 8, 2025, 12:30 Local 
• Registration: N414BA 
• Aircraft: Cessna 414 
• Injuries: 6 Fatal 
• Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Business

https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N414BA

https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200282/pdf

On June 08, 2025, at 1230 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 414A, N414BA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in San Diego, California. The pilot and five passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 business flight.

The day before the accident, the pilot and passengers flew from Phoenix, Arizona, to San Diego. The accident flight was intended to return to Phoenix.

The exact radio communication times could not be confirmed for the accident flight. The pilot received an instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance and was issued the BRDR7 (Border 7) departure. The published BRDR7 Standard Instrument Departure (SID) with a takeoff from runway 27 consisted of a “climb on heading 278° until PYG [Poggi VORTAC] 19 DME, then left turn on heading 123° to intercept PGY VPRTAC R-260 and R-069 to BROWS INT.”

After departing from runway 27, the pilot made a radio communication to SOCAL departure that he was at 1,600 ft, and shortly thereafter, the controller instructed him to make a left, 180° turn. The airplane began a gradual turn, and after climbing to about 2,000 ft, it made a steep descent to 200 ft. The controller issued the pilot a low altitude alert and instructed him to climb to 4,000 ft immediately to which the pilot replied by repeating the instructions. The controller then asked if he needed any assistance and queried him as to the nature of the problem. The pilot stated that he was “struggling” to try to maintain the airplane on a heading and climb. In response, the controller told him of the closest airport that was one mile away and asked him if he could see it. The pilot responded that he did not see the airport and made a series of erratic maneuvers before making several mayday calls (see figure 1 below).

A video captured the airplane descending before climbing back into the cloud layer, where it subsequently disappeared from view (see figure 2 below).

A police helicopter was ten miles east of the accident site when the flight crew received a request to search for any signs of an airplane impacting the water. In a post-accident interview, the helicopter pilot stated that he estimated the cloud bases at roughly 800 feet in numerous areas, with the highest layer near 1,600 ft (although a majority of the clouds were lower). Upon reaching the search area, he located an oil slick approximately two miles offshore.

The accident airplane’s regular pilot, who was also a friend of the accident pilot, stated that he had flown about 50 hours with the accident pilot in the airplane. He stated that two days prior to the accident, the accident pilot flew solo up to Springerville, Arizona. The friend then boarded the airplane and acted as a safety pilot for the accident pilot as he conducted four approaches in simulated instrument meteorological conditions. He recalled that the pilot used a Garmin 430 and iPad with ForeFlight for navigation and was accustomed to hand-flying the airplane, which had no autopilot or glass cockpit. He noted that the pilot had expressed some nervousness about the busy southern California airspace, but appeared to be proficient during their review of the San Diego departure procedure.