- Date
- December 19, 2004, 11:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Albuquerque, NM
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N204XDaniels Vans RV-8
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20041219031329A
- Case key
- 60747
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 maintain directional control resulting in a ground loop.
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 stated that the landing touchdown and initial landing roll were uneventful. When the tailwheel settled to the runway, the airplane "departed to the left aggressively." The pilot stated that he attempted to correct with full right rudder; however, it was ineffective. The airplane departed the runway to the right. The right main gear caught in the dirt and separated causing substantial damage. An examination of the airplane's systems revealed no anomalies.
Factual narrative
On December 19, 2004, at approximately 1130 mountain standard time, a Daniels Vans RV-8, N204X, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when it encountered a ground loop during the landing roll at Double Eagle II Airport, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot reported no injuries. The local flight originated at approximately 1000.
According to the accident report submitted by the pilot, the landing touchdown and initial landing roll were uneventful. When the tailwheel settled to the runway, the airplane "departed to the left aggressively." The pilot stated that he attempted to correct with full right rudder; however, it was ineffective. The airplane departed the runway to the right. The right main gear caught in the dirt and separated. The main spar in the right wing was buckled, one propeller blade was cracked, and another propeller blade had separated at midspan. An examination of the airplane's systems, conducted by the FAA, revealed no anomalies.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N204X
- Reported as
- Daniels Vans RV-8
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 81540
- Airframe hours
- 5.7
- Engine
- Aero Engines IO-360-B1F6, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2004 · 5.7 hours before
- Departed
- AEG · Albuquerque, NM
- Airport
- AEG · Double Eagle II, runway 22, 7,400 × 100 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
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- October 9, 2004
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 480 total · 5 in this make and model · 387 as pilot in command · 38 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.44 inHg
- Observed at
- AEG, 1 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.