Experimental plane crash kills 78-year-old pilot, injures wife, Oregon officials say
A 78-year-old man died and his wife was severely injured in an experimental plane crash, Oregon officials said.
Dennis Jackson of Independence was flying the single-engine plane when it went down near Scio around 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, according to a Facebook post from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
“Fire and Medical personnel from the Scio Rural Fire Department, and neighbors in the area who witnessed the crash, were among the first on scene,” the post said.
Deputies arrived “moments later” to find Jackson dead, sheriff officials said. Jackson’s wife suffered “life-threatening injuries” and was taken by ambulance to Salem Memorial Hospital.
The plane was registered in 2004 with the Federal Aviation Administration as an Experimental Amateur Built Aircraft under the name “Dennis Jackson RV-8,” officials said.
An Experimental Amateur Built Aircraft is one where “the major portion of which has been fabricated and assembled by person(s) who undertook the construction project solely for their own education or recreation,” according to the FAA.
Linn County Sheriff’s Office and the FAA will be conducting the investigation.
Linn County is about 60 miles northeast of Eugene.
This story was originally published August 22, 2022 at 10:32 AM with the headline "Experimental plane crash kills 78-year-old pilot, injures wife, Oregon officials say."
