Pilot Who Crashed Plane Had Been Indicted for Five Counts of Invasion of Personal Privacy

The plane crash west of Tumalo on Aug. 4 appears to have been a suicide, according to law enforcement officials.

Authorities have identified Bend resident Steven Nicholas Charlton, 48, as the pilot of the 2025 Cirrus SR22T, with which he took airborne at 1:34 pm from the Bend Municipal Airport, five hours before the crash law enforcement officials believe was intentional.

No other injuries or property damage were reported, nor did the crash ignite a fire.

Charlton was a licensed commercial pilot and certified flight instructor, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. It’s not immediately clear whether Charlton was authorized to fly the fixed-wing, single-propellor plane. Valued around $1 million, a Cirrus SR22T can fit four passengers, including the pilot.

The flight plan of the Cirrus SR22T piloted by Steven Charlton on Aug. 4 that ended in a crash in the Bull Flat area north of Bend. Credit: FlightAware

During the five-hour flight, Charlton chartered an erratic course across 712 miles, according to FlightAware flight maps. He flew as far north as Cove Palisades State Park, near Culver, where he circled several times before looping several spots between Redmond and the Bend Airport. Halfway through the flight, after making wide loops above the lower section of the Phil’s Trail Complex, Charlton made roughly 70 tight, concentric, mile-wide circles in the same spot about 5,000 feet above Bull Flat. The area west of the Tumalo Reservoir was a once-popular access point to the now-closed Bull Springs Skyline Forest, which has been owned by a holding company founded by a Chinese billionaire since 2015. Charlton crashed the plane on private property at 6:46 pm. Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the scene.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board began their investigation at the crash site on Aug. 5. Neither the public nor media is allowed near the crash site.

During the flight, multiple agencies came together with a precautionary response concerned with public safety, according to DCSO. These agencies included the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team, the FBI, FAA, Bend Fire & Rescue, Central Oregon Irrigation District and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. The FBI was also in contact with the Air Force base in Klamath Falls. Law enforcement tried to communicate with Charlton via cell phone, but he only wanted to speak with family members, DCSO Spokesperson Jason Carr told the Source.

Deschutes County Sheriff deputies had arrested Charlton just days before, on July 29. He was arraigned later the following day in Deschutes County Circuit Court on five counts of first-degree invasion of personal privacy. Court documents show he was accused of filming two minors in a state of nudity in a place where they reasonably expected privacy. The incidents allegedly occurred in 2025, between June 1 and Sept. 30.

After posting a $10,000 security, Charlton was conditionally released from Deschutes County Adult Jail on Aug. 3, the day before the crash. As release conditions, Charlton was barred from possessing video recording equipment and prohibited from contacting the two victims. He was also barred from contacting Cari Ann Charlton, who is listed with Steven as an owner of a residence on NE Neff Road, according to property records. Cari Ann Charlton was also one of two subpoenaed witnesses at an Aug. 4 grand jury indictment in circuit court.

Sometime that same day, Charlton’s family members called 911 because they worried he would harm himself, due to what he was communicating to them. Charlton refused to speak with a sheriff deputy and a negotiator from the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team when they contacted Charlton in the air on Aug. 4.

The day after the crash, Deputy District Attorney Matthew Nelson filed a dismissal of Charlton’s indictment because he’d died. Charlton’s grand jury arraignment in Deschutes County Circuit Court had been scheduled for Aug. 6.

It’s not clear whether Charlton was authorized to operate the Cirrus SR22T, which according to the FAA is registered to So Fly Aviation, a limited liability corporation and fractional owner with a residential address in Eugene. The plane was certified with the FAA on March 3, 2025. According to Lane County property records, the home is held by Jude Karanam Living Trust.

On Aug. 6, Aishiki Nag, a reporter working in collaboration with the Source, spoke with Rebecca Jude at the Eugene residence. Jude said she and her husband sold the plane about a month ago through a broker. They don’t personally know Charlton, they said. They’re aware of the plane crash, yet didn’t know whether the plane was stolen from the new owners.

A flight photo Steven Charlton posted to his Facebook page on June 13. Credit: Steven Charlton/Facebook

Flight logs show that the Cirrus airplane had been regularly used in intrastate flights originating from the Bend airport, including flights in July and June to the Oregon Coast. On June 13, Charlton posted a photo taken from the cockpit of a plane resembling that of a Cirrus SR22T; the Siuslaw Bridge is visible beyond the dash. Flight logs show the plane traveling from the Bend airport, in a relatively straight line, to Florence and then the Newport municipal airports before returning to Bend the same day. DCSO said Charlton regularly piloted chartered flights, yet it’s not immediately known for whom.

The Bend Municipal Airport is managed by the City of Bend. Citing the open investigation, City of Bend officials declined to answer the Source’s questions regarding security measures at the airport. The facility accommodates about 300 parked aircraft at any time.

Since Charlton died in an apparent suicide, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office won’t further investigate whether the pilot’s use of the plane constituted a crime.

“We don’t have any indication that Charlton stole the plane,” said DCSO Spokesman Jason Carr. He also said it’s not immediately known whether there was a breakdown of any FAA or airport protocol leading up to Charlton’s Aug. 4 flight.

The NTSB is requesting information from anyone who witnessed the flight or the crash, or who may have spoken with or seen Charlton at the Bend Airport. Witnesses can email: witness@ntsb.gov. News tips can be emailed to: peter@layitoutfoundation.org

—Aishiki Nag, a reporting intern with the Eugene Weekly, contributed reporting.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-TALK (8255).