# Accident 20020913025109A: Amtr VENTUREM20, Reno, NV, September 13, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 13, 2002, 14:40 local time
- Place: Reno, NV
- Airport: Reno/Stead Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.6667° N, 119.8833° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.6667&lon=-119.8833&mi=10
- Aircraft: N360, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N360-2005-07-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Minkler Roderick VENTURE M20 FAST-PRO (registry code 05623CF, https://openairdocs.org/model/minkler-roderick-venture-m20-fast-pro) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR VENTUREM20
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX02LA283](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02LA283) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020913025109A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) FATAL AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT WHILE PARTICIPATING IN THE RENO AIR RACES. (.19) ON SEPTEMBER 13, 2002, AT 1440 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, AN AMATEUR-BUILT MINKLER VENTURE M20 AIRPLANE, N360, SUSTAINED A STRUCTURAL FAILURE OF THE LEFT AND RIGHT HORIZONTAL STABILIZERS AND THE ASSOCIATED ELEVATORS AT THE RENO-STEAD AIRPORT, RENO, NEVADA, WHILE PARTICIPATING IN THE SPORT CLASS RACE AS PART OF THE ANNUAL RENO AIR RACES. FOLLOWING THE STRUCTURAL FAILURE OF THE STABILIZERS AND ELEVATORS, THE AIRPLANE DOVE INTO THE GROUND. THE AIRPLANE, WHICH WAS DESTROYED IN THE COLLISION SEQUENCE, WAS OPERATED BY THE PILOT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91 OF THE FEDERAL AVIATION REGULATIONS. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION INSPECTORS FROM THE RENO FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE WERE PRESENT AT THE AIRPORT MONITORING AIR RACE ACTIVITIES. THEY RESPONDED TO THE ACCIDENT SITE AND INTERVIEWED WITNESSES. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE SPORT CLASS RACE. AS THE AIRPLANE WAS ROUNDING PYLON NO. 1, THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZERS AND ELEVATORS BEGAN FLEXING (ON  E WITNESS WHO TELEPHONED A REPORT TO SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATORS SAID THE AIRPLANE BEGAN A SHALLOW PORPOISE JUST BEFORE) AND THEN BENT DOWN. THE AIRPLANE THEN DOVE INTO THE GROUND. PRELIMINARY ON-SITE ASSESSMENT OF THE WRECKAGE DISCLOSED THAT THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZERS AND ELEVATORS REMAINED ATTACHED TO THE EMPENNAGE; HOWEVER, THEY WERE BENT DOWN AT AN ACUTE ANGLE AT A POINT ABOUT 2 FEET OUTBOARD FROM THE ROOT ON EACH SIDE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX02LA283](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02LA283), Sep 13, 2002: Minkler Venture M20 (N360), Reno, NV, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the overload failure of the horizontal stabilizers and elevators due to a pilot induced oscillation at a speed at or above Vne, which exceeded the design stress limits of the structure. Also causal…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.