# NTSB DEN07CA007: Huff Acro Sport I, N511SH, Delta, CO, October 11, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: October 11, 2006, 10:35 local (16:35 UTC) - Place: Delta, CO - Coordinates: 38.785278, -108.063613 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.7853&lon=-108.0636&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report January 31, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 64680 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN07CA007 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/64680/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN07CA007 ## Probable cause the pilot's failure to select a touchdown point a safe distance from the construction crew, and his failure to maintain directional control of the airplane. Contributing factors in this accident included the pilot's limited forward visibility when the airplane was in a 3-point attitude, the soft terrain, and the rock. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - visual lookout - restricted, pilot in command (contributing factor) - proper touchdown point - not selected, pilot in command (cause) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - terrain condition - soft (contributing factor) - terrain condition - rock(s)/boulder(s) (contributing factor) ## Analysis A crew was working on the parallel taxiway near the runway edge. The pilot taxied past the construction area and took off on runway 21. After about 30 minutes of flying, the pilot returned to the airport and made some touch-and-go landings. Another airplane entered the traffic pattern and announced he would be landing in the opposite direction on runway 03. The pilot yielded and also landed on runway 03. To avoid the construction crew, he maneuvered the airplane to the left of runway centerline. He noted that his airplane was "a short-coupled biplane," and that forward visibility in a conventional (3-point) attitude was limited. This caused him to get too close to the runway edge, and the left main landing gear went off the left side of the runway and into soft, muddy soil. The airplane swerved to the left, went through some high sage brush, struck a large rock, spun around and nosed down. ## Factual narrative On October 11, 2006, approximately 1045 mountain daylight time, a Huff Acro Sport I, N511SH, piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged when it departed the runway and struck a large rock during landing at Blake Field (AJZ), Delta, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The local flight originating at Delta approximately 1015. According to the pilot's accident report, a crew was working on the parallel taxiway near the runway edge. The pilot taxied past the construction area and took off on runway 21. After about 30 minutes of flying, the pilot returned to the airport and made some touch-and-go landings. Another airplane entered the traffic pattern and announced he would be landing in the opposite direction on runway 03. The pilot yielded and also landed on runway 03. To avoid the construction crew, he maneuvered the airplane to the left of runway centerline. He noted that his airplane was "a short-coupled biplane," and that forward visibility in a conventional (3-point) attitude was limited. This caused him to get too close to the runway edge, and the left main landing gear went off the left side of the runway and into soft, muddy soil. The airplane swerved to the left, went through some high sage brush, struck a large rock, spun around and nosed down. The airport manager examined the airplane and reported that, in addition to the sheared landing gear, the wing spar was broken. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N511SH](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N511SH-2010-06-02), registration cancelled 2010-06-02, S/N 01-12-47-02, built 2003 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Huff Acro Sport I - Registry model: [Huff Roger ACRO SPORT I](https://openairdocs.org/model/huff-roger-acro-sport-i) (registry code 05611X3) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 01-12-47-02 - Airframe hours: 60 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-H2D 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Jack M. Sprague - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, September 1, 2006, 10 hours before - Departed: AJZ, Delta, CO - Destination: AJZ, Delta, CO - Airport: AJZ, Blake Field, runway 03, 5,600 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 65; injuries: minor; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; last flight review May 1, 2006; seat: front; flight hours: 2,157 total, 22 in this make and model, 2,157 as pilot in command, 22 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 52 °F, dew point 41 °F - Altimeter: 30.19 inHg - Observed at: MTJ, 31 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20061011030539A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20061011030539A), Oct 11, 2006: Amtr ACROSPORTI, Delta, CO, Substantial damage. (-23) On October 11, 2006 at approx. 1015 MST a huff, acro sport, N511SH, departed the LH side of rwy 03 at Delta, CO while performing touch and goes. The… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.