# NTSB CEN24LA254: Vans RV8, N312FM, Atwater, MN, July 6, 2024 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: July 6, 2024, 09:15 local (14:15 UTC) - Place: Atwater, MN - Coordinates: 45.048597, -94.836668 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.0486&lon=-94.8367&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 194636 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN24LA254 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194636/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194636 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN24LA254 ## Probable cause The pilot’s inability to stop the landing roll on a wet grass runway which resulted in a runway overrun. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Aircraft capability: braking capability](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01061050): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Capability exceeded; cases with it: [Argetsinger Dennis P VANS RV-8, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01061050/cases.md?model=05632YK), [All aircraft, 57 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01061050/cases.md) - [Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface: wet surface](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03023010): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Response/compensation (probable cause); cases with it: [Argetsinger Dennis P VANS RV-8, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03023010/cases.md?model=05632YK), [All aircraft, 141 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03023010/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Argetsinger Dennis P VANS RV-8, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=05632YK), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/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: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) (defining event); cases with it: [Argetsinger Dennis P VANS RV-8, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=05632YK), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300); cases with it: [Argetsinger Dennis P VANS RV-8, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=05632YK), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that, while landing on a wet grass runway, the airplane began to slide and he was unable to stop before the airplane departed the end of the runway into a soft, wet soybean field. The main landing gear dug into the soft soil and the airplane nosed over which resulted in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer, empennage, and right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N312FM](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N312FM), registered now, S/N 82162, built 2013 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: VANS RV8 - Registry model: [Argetsinger Dennis P VANS RV-8](https://openairdocs.org/model/argetsinger-dennis-p-vans-rv-8) (registry code 05632YK) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O-360-A4M](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-360-a4m) (registry code 42276, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 8Z162 - Year built: 2013 - Airframe hours: 494 - Engines: Lycoming YO-360-A1A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, May 7, 2024 - Departed: D32, Starbuck, MN - Destination: 68MN, Atwater, MN - Airport: 68MN, Stanton Hill Aerodrome, runway 36/18, 2,400 × 90 ft, grass/turf - Equipment: Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 67; injuries: minor; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: basicmed, with waivers/limitations; last flight review May 13, 2024; seat: front; restraint: 5-point; flight hours: 1,740 total, 336 in this make and model, 1,340 as pilot in command, 13 in the last 90 days, 12 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 190° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 64 °F - Altimeter: 29.96 inHg - Observed at: KBDH, 13 nm away - METAR: KBDH 061415Z AUTO 19006KT 10SM FEW120 23/18 A2996 RMK AO2 ## 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 20240706011889A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240706011889A), Jul 6, 2024: Argetsinger Dennis P VANS RV-8, Atwater, MN, Substantial damage. The aircraft bounced multiple times on wet grass while landing. The aircraft exceeded the grass strip, rolled approximately 50 feet into a soybean field where… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 19, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194636. 3.3 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 2.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17409828&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN24LA254%20-%206120_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 2, PDF, 4 pages, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17409562&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN24LA254%20-%20Photo%20Summary-Rel.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.