- Date
- August 23, 2018, 12:45 local (17:45 UTC)
- Place
- Spring Branch, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N110DVVans RV10
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Abrupt maneuver
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 2019
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20180823012179A
- Case key
- 98149
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 the proper glidepath and his subsequent abrupt maneuver to avoid trees, which led to the exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and resulted in an aerodynamic stall during landing and a subsequent loss of directional control.
Findings · 4
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, on short final, the airplane was too low, too slow, and right of the runway centerline, and that he overcorrected to clear trees located at the approach end of runway 12. Subsequently, the airplane stalled and touched down on the upsloping approach end of the runway. The right wing struck rising terrain in the safety area on the right side of the runway, and the airplane skidded across the grass safety area and came to rest on the parallel taxiway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the engine mounts. The runway had rising terrain at both the approach and departure ends. The airport facility directory noted that runway 12 had 20-ft-tall trees 25 ft from the runway threshold and required a 4:1 glideslope to remain clear of them. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that on short final, the airplane was too low, too slow, and right of the runway centerline, and that he overcorrected to clear trees located at the approach end of runway 12. Subsequently, the airplane stalled and touched down on the upsloping approach end of the runway. The right wing struck rising terrain in the safety area on the right side of the runway, and the airplane skidded across the grass safety area and came to rest on the parallel taxiway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the engine mounts. The runway had rising terrain at both the approach and departure ends. The airport facility directory identifies that runway 12 had 20-foot tall trees that are 25 feet from the runway threshold and requires a 4:1 glide slope to remain clear. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N110DV
- Reported as
- Vans RV10
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 40065
- Built
- 2007
- Airframe hours
- 726
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · November 10, 2017
- Departed
- MEI · Meridian, MS
- Destination
- MEI · Meridian, MS
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- 1T7 · Kestrel Airpark, runway 12, 3,000 × 40 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Auto-pilot, Angle of attack indicator, Stall warning system, Onboard weather
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
- 55
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 26, 2017
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 714 total · 340 in this make and model · 705 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 6 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- KSAT, 16 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 14, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.6 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.