Crash Discovery
On April 20, 2013, between 0600 and 0720 mountain standard time, an experimental amateur-built Hoffman RV-4, registration N194BD, crashed at Bullhead City Airport (IFP) in Bullhead City, Arizona. The airplane was found by airport personnel during a safety sweep around 0720, positioned between a runway and a taxiway. It had not been present during the previous sweep at 0430. No witnesses to the impact were identified.
Flight Details
The airplane was operated under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 by the owner/pilot, who held a commercial pilot certificate. The cross-country personal flight departed Cottonwood, Arizona, after 0600 with an unknown destination. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
Witness Account
A witness at Cottonwood Airport (P52) reported hearing what he believed to be N194BD depart after 0600 and noted the airplane had been at the airport the previous Friday night.
Pilot Fatality
An autopsy performed on April 22, 2013, by the Mohave County medical examiner determined that the pilot died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the manner of death was suicide. The airplane sustained substantial damage from impact forces.