- Date
- March 27, 2015, 13:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Fairfield, UT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N701VZDavid Shell Zenith CH701
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 1, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20150327003219A
- Case key
- 90952
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 a precautionary off airport 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 stated he thought he smelled smoke in the cockpit while en route to his destination. During a precautionary landing on a dirt road, the pilot stated he encountered a "dust devil" as the airplane touched down, and the airplane veered into a ditch. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. Winds in the area were reported light and variable. The pilot holds a repairman certificate for the airplane; he reported a post-accident examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have resulted in abnormal operation of the airplane. He did not find anything related to the smell of the smoke.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated he thought he smelled smoke in the cockpit while en route to his destination. During a precautionary landing on a dirt road, the pilot stated he encountered a "dust devil" as the airplane touched down, and the airplane veered into a ditch. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. Winds in the area were reported light and variable. The pilot holds a repairman certificate for the airplane; he reported a post-accident examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have resulted in abnormal operation of the airplane. He did not find anything related to the smell of the smoke.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N701VZ
- Reported as
- David Shell Zenith CH701
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 7-6687
- Built
- 2012
- Engine
- Rotax 912ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Zenith AFTV LLC
- Registered owner
- Zenith AFTV LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · September 27, 2014
- Departed
- UT99 · Cedar Valley, UT
- Destination
- Delle, UT
- Airport
- UT99 · West Desert Airpark
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Handheld GPS
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
- 71
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 23, 2013
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 464 total · 165 in this make and model · 403 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.31 inHg
- Observed at
- KPVU, 20 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 26, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 820 KB 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.