- Date
- July 10, 2003, 12:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Aurora, CO
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N20584Davis Zenair Stol 701
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Denver Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20030710018099A
- Case key
- 57477
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 attain adequate airspeed and establish a climb resulting in a stall/mush and collision with the ground. Contributing factors were his premature turn onto the downwind leg, and the plowed/furrowed terrain.
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
This was to be a pre-purchase test flight. The pilot said he took off and the airplane lifted into ground effect and accelerated. He saw the international airport in the distance and elected to make an early crosswind turn. During the turn, engine noise diminished and the airplane lost altitude (the pilot opined that the engine lost power during the crosswind turn). Too low to maneuver, the pilot made a downwind forced landing in a field. The airplane touched down on its main gear. When the nose wheel settled to the ground, ground furrows sheared it off and the airplane nosed over. The airplane owner witnessed the accident and said the pilot made a premature downwind turn while still in ground effect, and "flew it [the airplane] into the ground."
Factual narrative
On July 10, 2003, approximately 1200 mountain daylight time, a Davis Zenair STOL 701, N20584, was substantially damaged when it nosed over during an emergency landing at the Aurora Air Park, Aurora, Colorado. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.
This was to be a pre-purchase test flight. According to the pilot's accident report, he took off and the airplane lifted into ground effect and accelerated. Denver International Airport was in the distance and he elected to make an early crosswind turn to avoid entering its airspace. During the turn, engine noise diminished and the airplane began losing altitude (the pilot opined that the engine lost power during the crosswind turn). Too low to maneuver, the pilot made a downwind forced landing in a field. The airplane touched down on its main gear. When the nose wheel settled to the ground, ground furrows sheared it off and the airplane nosed over, crushing the vertical stabilizer. The airplane owner witnessed the accident and said the pilot made a premature downwind turn while still in ground effect, and "flew it [the airplane] into the ground."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20584
- Reported as
- Davis Zenair Stol 701
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1417
- Engine
- Suzuki 993cm, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Guy W. Davis
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 21, 2002
- Departed
- 01V · Aurora, CO
- Airport
- 01V · Aurora Air Park, runway 17, 4,840 × 36 ft
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
- 32
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- June 30, 2003
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,560 total · 657 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.25 inHg
- Observed at
- DEN, 10 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.