# NTSB CEN12LA333: Walters RV-8, N808WW, Hutchinson, MN, May 31, 2012 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 31, 2012, 15:50 local (20:50 UTC) - Place: Hutchinson, MN - Coordinates: 44.883335, -94.400001 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.8833&lon=-94.4000&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing area overshoot](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/380) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 1 minor - Status: Completed, report July 29, 2013 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Adminstration - NTSB case key (mKey): 83829 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN12LA333 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/83829/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=83829 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12LA333 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain proper airspeed during the landing attempt, his failure to maintain directional control, and his delayed attempted aborted landing at an airspeed that was too low, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: airspeed](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not specified (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,681 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Action: delayed action](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 894 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041025/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing area overshoot](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/380) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 400 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/380/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,506 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md) - [Landing: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230); cases with it: [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Attempted remediation/recovery](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/060); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,422 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/060/sequence.md) - [Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot was landing the airplane with excessive speed. The airplane touched down 2,200 feet down the 4,000-foot-long runway. When the tailwheel touched down, the airplane began to veer off of the runway. The pilot stated that the tailwheel became "squirrelly." The pilot added engine power while attempting to return to the runway surface. He then pitched the airplane's nose up to avoid an airport lighting aid at a speed that was too low to maintain flight. The airplane settled back to the ground and impacted the terrain. Postaccident examination of the tailwheel and flight controls revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. ## Factual narrative On May 31, 2012, at 1550 central daylight time, a Walters RV-8, N808WW, departed runway 33 and impacted terrain during an aborted landing at Hutchinson Municipal Airport-Butler Field (HCD), Hutchinson, Minnesota. The private pilot sustained serious injuries and the passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and the wing. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was destined for HCD. The pilot stated that the final approach to landing was normal and maybe a "little fast," at an airspeed of about 80 knots. He said that he maintained flight over the runway to bleed off speed. When the main landing gear touched, the airplane rolled out down the runway. He said that the tail "got squirrelly" when it touched down during the rollout. The airplane veered off the right side of the runway and he tried to return the airplane back to the runway. He added full engine power while attempting to return to the runway and noticed a bank of lights ahead. He "jerked" the control stick back in an attempt to get the airplane to fly. The airplane lifted off at a high pitch attitude, and as it was airborne, he tried three times to move the control stick forward. During the third control input on the control stick, the wing stalled and dipped. The airplane impacted the ground at a "very low" pitch attitude, cartwheeled, and came to rest on the landing gear. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the airplane touched down about 2,200 feet down runway 33 (4,000 feet by 75 feet, asphalt). The airplane veered off about 3,100 feet down runway 33. Examination of the tailwheel revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the flight controls confirmed flight control continuity. ## Aircraft - Registration: N808WW (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Walters RV-8 - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 81149 - Airframe hours: 274 - Engines: Superior XP-IO-360-B1A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Pilot - Registered owner: Pilot - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, December 28, 2011 - Departed: SPF, Spearfish, SD - Destination: HCD, Hutchinson, MN - Airport: HCD, Hutchinson Municipal Airport-B, runway 33, 4,000 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 47; injuries: serious; commercial, private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review May 4, 2012; seat: front; flight hours: 890 total, 114 in this make and model, 682 as pilot in command, 35 in the last 90 days, 19 in the last 30 days, 6 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 310° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 63 °F, dew point 43 °F - Altimeter: 30.05 inHg - Observed at: HCD ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20120531010569A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120531010569A), May 31, 2012: Walters Don L RV-8, Hutchinson, MN, Substantial damage. Aircraft landed on runway 33, slightly beyond takiway c, at approximately 2200 feet. Pilot then ran off the right side of runway at approximately 3100 feet.… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 12, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=83829. 1.2 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40387259&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Record of Conversation (item 2, .PDF, 52 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40387256&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation-Master.PDF 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. --- 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.