- Date
- July 10, 2026, 10:23 local (16:23 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Junction, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N812MMVans RV-12
- Defining event
- Enroute: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration, Salt Lake City FSDO
- Case key
- 203384
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Preliminary report
What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.
On July 10, 2026, about 1023 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Vans Aircraft Inc RV-12 airplane, N812MM, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Grand Junction, Colorado. The pilot and a passenger were uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot stated that he picked up the airplane at Blake Field Airport (AJZ), Delta, Colorado, after a condition inspection was completed and planned to fly to Mineral County Memorial Airport, Creede, Colorado. After departure from AJZ, the Garmin G3X Touch display dimmed and shut down, which was immediately followed by a total loss of engine power. The pilot stated there was no electrical power to the starter switch, but the communication radio continued for function. The pilot then performed a forced landing to a field during which the airplane sustained substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer. The airplane was retained for further examination.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N812MM
- Reported as
- Vans RV-12
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 120517
- Built
- 2015
- Airframe hours
- 522.2
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pilot
- Registered owner
- Pilot
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 10, 2026
- Departed
- AJZ · Delta, CO
- Destination
- C24 · Creede, CO
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Electronic multifunction display, Onboard weather, Electronic primary flight display, Handheld GPS
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.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- GJT, 15 nm away