Van's RV-14A, N365EM: Accident occurred July 16, 2019 in Aumsville, Marion County, Oregon

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Aviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board:  https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

https://registry.faa.gov/N365EM

Location: Aumsville, OR
Accident Number: WPR19LA189
Date & Time: 07/16/2019, 1321 PDT
Registration: N365EM 
Aircraft: Vans RV14
Injuries: 1 Serious
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal 

On July 16, 2019, about 1321 Pacific daylight time, a Vans RV 14A airplane, N365EM, was destroyed following an in-flight fire near Aumsville, Oregon. The pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the fight that originated from Aurora State Airport (UAO) Aurora, Oregon at 1235 with the intended destination to Corvallis Municipal Airport (CVO) Corvallis, Oregon.

The pilot reported that he was in cruise flight at 1,500 ft above ground level when he lost all electrical instrumentations and smelled burning wiring. The pilot then initiated an emergency descent. A few seconds later, the smoke began to fill the cockpit and the fire started to enter the lower part of the cockpit by the rudder pedals. Once he landed, the pilot evacuated the airplane that continued to burn until the first responders extinguished the fire. 

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Vans
Registration: N365EM
Model/Series: RV14 A
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: Yes
Operator: Mitchell Eugene W
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site:
Condition of Light:
Observation Facility, Elevation:
Observation Time:
Distance from Accident Site:
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Lowest Cloud Condition:
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction:
Lowest Ceiling:
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Type of Flight Plan Filed:
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Destination:

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Serious
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: In-Flight and On-Ground
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Serious
Latitude, Longitude: 44.887500, -122.871944




A pilot was treated and released from the hospital after crashing his plane Tuesday afternoon while attempting an emergency landing in a grass field east of Salem.

Eugene Mitchell, 73, of Portland, told deputies he experienced mechanical issues which led to the plane catching fire mid-flight while traveling from the Albany area to the Aurora Airport. Mitchell, an experienced pilot, suffered non-life threatening injuries.

He was the only occupant of the plane, according to Sgt. Jeremy Landers with the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

Units from Aumsville Fire District and Marion County Fire District #1 responded to a report of a single-engine aircraft crash near the intersection of Howell Prairie Road SE and Jordan Street SE before 1:30 p.m., according to dispatch records.

The plane came to rest south of Jordon, east of Howell Prairie, in an unharvested grass field, according to Aumsville Fire District Fire Chief Roy Hari.

The crash ignited a grass fire, which was contained in less than half an hour after burning an area of about 100 feet by 200 feet, according to Hari.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were notified of the crash.

Story and video ➤ https://www.statesmanjournal.com

A plane crashed into a field 10 miles southeast of Salem Tuesday afternoon after its pilot made an emergency landing, Marion County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jeremy Landers said.

The pilot, Eugene Mitchell, 73, of Portland, was able to escape the plane that was fully engulfed in flames and was taken to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries, Landers said in a press release.

Mitchell's plane caught fire mid-air while he flew from near Albany to the Aurora Airport, according to Landers. Mechanical issues caught the fire, Landers said.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to the crash near Jordan Street Southeast and Howell Prairie Road Southeast around 1:23 p.m.

No one else was in the plane, Landers said.

Landers also noted that Mitchell is a military veteran, "with flying experience dating back to Vietnam."

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Traffic Safety Board have been notified of the crash, Landers said.

Original article ➤ https://www.salemreporter.com