- Date
- July 5, 2003, 14:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Durango, CO
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N78DRConn Vans RV-4
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20030705012689A
- Case key
- 57399
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
partial propeller blade separation for reasons undetermined, and the pilot's misjudgment of distance and altitude during the forced landing approach that resulted in his overshooting the road on intended landing and colliding with trees. A contributing factor was the trees.
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 said he was climbing through 8,500 feet when the engine began to shake violently. He reduced power to idle and eventually shut the engine down. When the propeller stopped, he noticed one-half inch of one blade's trailing edge had separated. After dropping full flaps, the pilot attempted to make a forced landing on a dirt road but overshot. The airplane collided with two trees next to the road. A wood propeller manufacturer examined the propeller and found no defects or other damage to the propeller.
Factual narrative
On July 5, 2003, approximately 1400 mountain daylight time, a Conn Vans RV-4, N78DR, owned and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during a forced landing about 30 miles south of Durango, Colorado. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant of the aircraft, was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the cross-country flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Durango approximately 1330, and was en route to Los Lunas, New Mexico.
According to the pilot, he was climbing through 8,500 feet when the engine began to shake violently. He reduced power to idle and eventually shut the engine down. When the propeller stopped, he noticed the trailing edge of the wood blade had separated. He saw a dirt road next to a clearing and decided it was suitable for landing. He made a 360-degree turn and dropped full flaps but overshot the road. The airplane struck two trees and came to rest next to an oil field road on County Road 311.
The propeller was sent to the Sensenich Wood Propeller Company in Plant City, Florida, for examination. According to Sensenich's report, one blade was broken off near the hub and the other blade had "a massive split extending from the tip trailing edge to just outside the hub." The report noted that whereas the hub face was discolored somewhat, "the bolt holes and counterbores appear normal." The report concluded, "There are no signs of defects or other damage to the propeller which provides any clues for why the propeller is in its present state."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N78DR
- Reported as
- Conn Vans RV-4
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 859
- Airframe hours
- 1,406
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · April 27, 2003 · 23 hours before
- Departed
- 00C · Durango, CO
- Destination
- E98 · Los Lunas, NM
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
- 52
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- May 21, 2003
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 7,910 total · 946 in this make and model · 3,195 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 11 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- DRO
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.