- Date
- August 19, 2019, 12:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Ocracoke, NC
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N566WVVans RV7
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 13, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20190819017839A
- Case key
- 100097
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 lateral control during an attempted aborted landing, which resulted in impact with trees.
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, during the first approach to land, the airplane was high, and he chose to abort the landing. During the second approach, the airplane was again high, and he used a forward slip to descend. Upon crossing the runway threshold, he realized the airplane was drifting left of the runway. He again aborted the landing and applied full power. However, the airplane pitched up, continued to drift left, and impacted trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, the left and right wings, and the empennage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that, during the first approach to land, the airplane was high, and he aborted the landing. During the second approach, the airplane was again high, and he used a forward slip to descend. Upon crossing the runway threshold, he realized the airplane was drifting left of the runway. He again aborted the landing and applied full power. The airplane pitched up, continued to drift left and impacted trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, left and right wings and empennage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. An airport's automated weather observation station located 19 miles to the north east, reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 230° at 6 knots. The pilot was landing the airplane on runway 6.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N566WV
- Reported as
- Vans RV7 (A)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 72604
- Built
- 2008
- Airframe hours
- 912.3
- Engine
- Superior XP-IO-B1AD3, 185 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · May 9, 2019
- Departed
- FFA · Kill Devil Hills, NC
- Destination
- W95 · Ocracoke, NC
- Airport
- W95 · Ocracoke Island, runway 06, 2,998 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Auto-pilot, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display
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
- 72
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 17, 2018
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 3,846 total · 912 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 79 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- KHSE, 19 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 18, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.1 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.