# Accident 20210607007539A: O'Grady Patrick James RV6A, Porterville, CA, June 7, 2021

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 7, 2021, 14:20 local time
- Place: Porterville, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.0361° N, 119.0700° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.0361&lon=-119.0700&mi=10
- Aircraft: N94PJ (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: O'GRADY PATRICK JAMES RV6A
- Reported engine: SUPERIOR XP-IO-360 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, commercial pilot
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR21FA223](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR21FA223) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20210607007539A

## Narrative

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

ON JUNE 7, 2021, THE ABOVE AIRCRAFT WAS DEPARTING ON RUNWAY 30 AT PORTERVILLE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AT APPROXIMATELY 1420 LOCAL TIME. ACCORDING TO WITNESS STATEMENTS, DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL AND CLIMB OUT, THE ENGINE WAS MAKING POPPING SOUNDS. SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, AT APPROXIMATELY 250 FEET AGL, WITNESSES STATED THAT THE ENGINE QUIT. AT THE TIME THE ENGINE QUIT, THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN A GRADUAL LEFT TURN DEPARTING THE RUNWAY AREA. WHEN THE ENGINE QUIT, THE PIC PERFORMED A HARD RIGHT TURN IN AN ATTEMPT TO RETURN TO THE RUNWAY. PRIOR TO COMPLETING THE TURN, THE AIRSPEED DROPPED AND THE AIRCRAFT BECAME UNSTABLE. WITNESSES STATED THAT THEY COULD SEE THE CONTROL SURFACES OF THE AIRCRAFT MOVING RAPIDLY, INDICATING THAT THE PILOT WAS TRYING TO GAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE AIRCRAFT ROLLED WINGS LEVEL FOR A BRIEF MOMENT BEFORE ENTERING A STEEP DIVE AND ROLLING TO THE LEFT. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE GROUND APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET OFF THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY, WITHIN THE AIRPORT BOUNDARIES. ITS LEFT WING AND PROP HITTING NEAR SIMULTANEOUSLY AT CLOSE TO A 75 DEGREE ANGLE. THE AIRCRAFT SKIPPED ONCE AND LANDED APPROXIMATELY 40 FEET FROM THE INITIAL IMPACT POINT IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION. THE AIRCRAFT BURST INTO FLAMES JUST AFTER THE INITIAL IMPACT. THE PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT, WAS FATALLY INJURED.

AIRPORT SURVEILLANCE VIDEO CONFIRMED WITNESS STATEMENTS BUT WITHOUT AUDIO.

## 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 WPR21FA223](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR21FA223), Jun 7, 2021: Vans RV6 (N94PJ), Porterville, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: A loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on available information.

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.

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