- Date
- June 24, 2011, 10:54 local (16:54 UTC)
- Place
- Angel Fire, NM
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N678VRHendricks George David JR RV8
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 4, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Albuquerque FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110624011419A
- Case key
- 80905
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of directional control during landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that during landing the airplane encountered gusty wind and the tailwheel touched down hard. The airplane veered to the right and the pilot applied left rudder, but the airplane continued off the right side of the runway, struck terrain, and came to rest upright. The airplane's fuselage sustained substantial damage. The wind at the airport around the time of the accident was an 80 degree right crosswind at 17 knots gusting to 25 knots. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical anomalies with the airplane and said the accident could have been prevented if he had maintained crosswind aileron control throughout the landing.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that after the main gear touched down, the airplane encountered a gust of wind which raised the right wing and resulted in a hard touchdown of the tail wheel. The airplane veered to the right and the pilot applied left rudder, but the airplane continued off the right side of the runway, struck terrain, and came to rest upright. The airplane's fuselage was substantially damaged during the accident. The wind at the airport around the time of the accident was an 80 degree right crosswind at 17 knots gusting to 25 knots. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical anomalies with the airplane and recommended more emphasis on maintaining crosswind aileron control throughout the landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N678VR
- Reported as
- Hendricks George David JR RV8
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 82700
- Airframe hours
- 210
- Engine
- ECi OX-360-A4B9N, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · August 6, 2010 · 91 hours before
- Departed
- SAF · Santa Fe, NM
- Destination
- AXX · Angel Fire, NM
- Airport
- AXX · Angel Fire Airport, runway 17, 8,900 × 100 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 63
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 28, 2011
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 13,100 total · 34 in this make and model · 11,039 as pilot in command · 49 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 17 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.25 inHg
- Observed at
- KAXX
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 12, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.5 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.