Fatal Experimental Aircraft Accident Near Colonial Beach, Virginia (N835BC)

Accident Overview and Witness Accounts On June 7, 2023, at 1015 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Vans RV-6, N835BC, was destroyed in an accident near Colonial Beach, Virginia. The aircraft was operating as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. A witness reported dropping the occupants at a neighbor's private airstrip around 0945. Approximately 30 minutes later, the witness observed the aircraft make two circles around his house. During the second circle, the aircraft entered a steep, tight bank about 100 feet above the ground before its nose dropped and it impacted the ground in a near-vertical attitude. The witness noted the engine was running well throughout the sequence. The owner of the grass airstrip provided a similar account.