- Date
- August 31, 2001, 13:10 local (19:10 UTC)
- Place
- Pagosa Springs, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N199LHVans RV-6A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 25, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20010831025049A
- Case key
- 53178
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 inadequate airplane preflight inspection which led to the subsequent lateral control of the airplane on the ground not being possible. A contributing factor was the unavailability of rudder control due to a headset blocking the rudder control mechanism during the takeoff roll.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot was practicing a short field takeoff. He held the brakes and set the engine to 2,650 revolutions per minute. When he released the brakes, the airplane immediately veered to the left and departed the runway. He attempted to apply full right rudder, but no right rudder was available. He said that he attempted to control the airplane with differential braking. The airport manager said that the airplane traveled approximately 350 feet, started down slope and struck an Elk fence (the fence was approximately 250 feet east of the runway). The pilot said that the nose wheel dropped into a ditch which was along the left side of the runway. The airplane's nose gear broke aft and the airplane came to rest in a nose down orientation. Postaccident examination of the airplane by the pilot revealed that a headset on the floor of the airplane had jammed the rudder controls.
Factual narrative
On August 31, 2001, at approximately 1310 mountain daylight time, a Vans RV-6A homebuilt airplane, N199LH, was substantially damaged when it departed the runway during takeoff and impacted a ditch at Stevens Field (2V1; elevation 7,700 feet), Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The private pilot, the sole occupant on the airplane, was not injured. The pilot was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight that was originating at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed.
The pilot said that he was practicing a short field takeoff. He held the brakes and set the power at 2,650 revolutions per minute. When he released the brakes, the airplane immediately veered to the left and departed the runway. The pilot said he attempted to apply full right rudder, but no right rudder was available. He said that he attempted to control the airplane with differential braking. The airport manager said that the airplane traveled approximately 350 feet, started down a hill, and struck an Elk fence (the fence was approximately 250 feet east of the runway). The pilot said that the nose wheel dropped into a ditch which was along the left side of the runway. The airplane's nose gear broke aft and the airplane came to rest in a nose down orientation. The nose wheel landing gear separated from the airplane, and the engine mount was bent.
Postaccident examination of the airplane by the pilot, revealed that a headset on the floor of the airplane had jammed the rudder controls.
The density altitude was calculated to be 10,347 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N199LH
- Reported as
- Vans RV-6A
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 23958
- Airframe hours
- 222
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-AIA, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Laurence T. Hammond
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 25, 2001 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- 2V1 · Pagosa Springs, CO
- Airport
- 2V1 · Pagosa Springs, runway 19, 8,500 × 75 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
- 57
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- June 6, 2000
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 685 total · 222 in this make and model · 672 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.17 inHg
- Observed at
- DRO, 34 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N199LH · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.