- Date
- February 24, 2021, 09:46 local (14:46 UTC)
- Place
- North Hampton, NH
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N642LTTurcotte JR Robert L RV6
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20210224002479A
- Case key
- 102667
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 during the landing in a crosswind condition, which resulted in a runway excursion.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the pilot, the approach to the runway was very stable. He performed a wheel landing in the tailwheel equipped airplane and touched down on runway 20 just past the numbers on the centerline. Before the tailwheel settled onto the runway, a gust of wind struck the airplane. The pilot corrected the airplane, but another “stronger” gust struck the airplane again resulting in the airplane veering off the right side of the runway. The airplane impacted the snow in the grass area between the runway and taxiway and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The winds reported at an airport 7 miles to the north of the accident location were from 240° at 9 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N642LT
- Reported as
- Turcotte JR Robert L RV6
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 25596
- Built
- 2019
- Airframe hours
- 33
- Engine
- Eci TMX IO-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · August 20, 2020
- Departed
- 7B6 · Warehouse Point, CT
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 7B3 · Hampton Airfield, runway 20, 2,105 × 121 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Handheld GPS, Onboard weather, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Angle of attack indicator
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
- 70
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 31, 2019
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 1,722 total · 66 in this make and model · 1,114 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 0.8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- PSM, 7 nm away
- METAR
- KPSM 241456Z 24009KT 10SM SCT040 SCT250 06/M04 A2993 RMK AO2A SLP137 T00621040
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 15, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 14.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.