- Date
- April 7, 2008, 17:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- French Lick, IN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N551MPPowell Vans RV-6A
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20080407835489A
- Case key
- 67817
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 failure to compensate for the crosswind condition and maintain control of the airplane. A factor was the crosswind.
Findings · 3
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 he was landing the amateur-built, experimental airplane on runway 26 with the local winds reported as 260 degrees at 4 knots. He reported that as the airplane was touching down, the left wing came up and the right wing and nose wheel touched down on the runway at the same time. The right wingtip sustained substantial damage and the nose gear folded under the fuselage. The pilot reported there was a "valley on either side of the runway" which "funneled a crosswind" of greater velocity than the winds of the surrounding area.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he was landing the amateur-built, experimental airplane on runway 26 with the local winds reported as 260 degrees at 4 knots. He reported that as the airplane was touching down, the left wing came up and the right wing and nose wheel touched down on the runway at the same time. The right wingtip sustained substantial damage and the nose gear folded under the fuselage. The pilot reported there was a "valley on either side of the runway" which "funneled a crosswind" of greater velocity than the winds of the surrounding area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N551MP
- Reported as
- Powell Vans RV-6A
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 23375
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- MBP Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- LGC · Lagrange, GA
- Destination
- IC5 · Bolingbrook, IL
- Airport
- FRH · French Lick, runway 26
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
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 234 total · 49 in this make and model · 8 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 4 knots
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.