- Date
- May 12, 2021, 18:07 local (22:07 UTC)
- Place
- Martinsburg, WV · 39.4023568,-77.9829991
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N54RVPage Joseph E Vans RV-4
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- 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
- 20210512008389A
- Case key
- 103277
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 improper landing flare in variable crosswind conditions, which resulted in a hard landing.
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
The pilot reported that after a local flight during an approach to land, he “rounded out too soon” in the landing flare, which resulted in the airplane entering an aerodynamic stall “a couple of feet above the runway.” The airplane subsequently touched down hard on the runway, the airplane skidded to a stop, and the pilot shut down the airplane and pushed it onto a taxiway. Photographs provided by the Federal Aviation Administration revealed substantial to the rear fuselage area and engine mount, in addition to a wrinkled firewall and damaged propeller. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the pilot was landing the airplane on runway 8 with wind reported near the accident time from 320° at 7 knots, variable from 290° to 350°.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N54RV
- Reported as
- Page Joseph E Vans RV-4 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 2370
- Built
- 1992
- Airframe hours
- 752
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · October 30, 2020
- Departed
- MRB · Martisburg, WV
- Airport
- MRB · Eastern Wv Rgnl/Shepherd Fld, runway 08/26, 8,815 × 150 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 22, 2019
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 412 total · 5 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.19 inHg
- Observed at
- KMRB, 2 nm away
- METAR
- SPECI KMRB 122223Z 32007KT 290V350 10SM BKN100 19/M01 A3019 RMK AO2 T01891011=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 13, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 8.5 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.