On October 17, 1997, approximately 1745 Pacific daylight time, N5482U, a Beech V-35, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing near the Medford, Oregon, airport. The pilot, the sole person on board, was seriously injured. The flight had initiated at John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana, California. There was no flight plan filed for the flight, and no report of the ELT actuating. The pilot had requested priority handling inbound to Medford with minimum fuel. The airplane was unable to reach the airport, and crashed one mile southeast of runway 34 at 1745. FAA inspectors conducted an on-scene investigation the day after the accident. They reported finding no indication of post-crash fire, no indication of fuel on board the airplane, and no evidence of mechanical malfunction. Fire department personnel advised the FAA inspectors that there had been no evidence or odor of fuel at the accident scene. The pilot did not return an NTSB 6120 1/2 report.