NYC08CA048

NTSB accident investigation · Vans RV-8 · Latrobe, PA · November 28, 2007

Accident · Serious injuriesData collectionFinal report
Date
November 28, 2007, 14:33 local (19:33 UTC)
Place
Latrobe, PA
Injuries
1 serious
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N103JTVans RV-8
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report March 31, 2008
Report
Approved by Office Director
Parties
Allegheny County
FAA report
20071128827989A
Case key
67176

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing.

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

Loss of control - in flightLanding - flare/touchdown
Directional control - not maintainedPilot in commandCause
In flight collision with terrain/waterLanding - aborted

Analysis

On his third landing of the day, the pilot of an amateur built Vans RV-8 touched down, in a tail low attitude, near the displaced runway threshold. The airplane began to veer left and right, so the pilot applied power and climbed to an altitude of 30 to 50 feet. The airplane then rolled and turned left before it overflew the left edge of the runway and parallel taxiway, while continuing to turn past a heading perpendicular to the runway centerline. The airplane continued the left turn, in an approximate 30-degree bank, and began to descend toward a low wetland adjacent to the runway. The aircraft struck the ground left wingtip first, and the left wing and left main gear separated from the airframe. The airplane then cartwheeled counterclockwise coming to rest upright on the right main landing gear and forward fuselage. This was the pilot's second incident in an RV-8. Approximately one year prior to the accident, in a different RV-8, the pilot also experienced a loss of control while practicing landings, during which the airplane veered off the left side of the runway and struck a taxiway light.

Factual narrative

On his third landing of the day, the pilot of an amateur built Vans RV-8 touched down, in a tail low attitude, near the displaced runway threshold. The airplane began to veer left and right, so the pilot applied power and climbed to an altitude of 30 to 50 feet. The airplane then rolled and turned left before it overflew the left edge of the runway and parallel taxiway, while continuing to turn past a heading perpendicular to the runway centerline. The airplane continued the left turn, in an approximate 30-degree bank, and began to descend toward a low wetland adjacent to the runway. The aircraft struck the ground left wingtip first, and the left wing and left main gear separated from the airframe. The airplane then cartwheeled counterclockwise coming to rest upright on the right main landing gear and forward fuselage. Review of Federal Aviation Administration records revealed that the accident flight was the pilot's second incident in an RV-8. Approximately one year prior to the accident, in a different RV-8, the pilot also experienced a loss of control while practicing landings, during which the airplane veered off the left side of the runway and struck a taxiway light.

Aircraft

Registration
N103JT
Reported as
Vans RV-8
Category
Airplane, amateur-built
Serial number
80580
Engine
Lycoming O-320, 160 hp, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Special, Experimental (Special)
Departed
LBE · Latrobe, PA
Destination
LBE
Airport
LBE · Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, runway 23, 8,500 × 100 ft, asphalt

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
60
Injuries
Serious
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, With waivers/limitations
Seat
Front
Flight hours
475 total · 3 in this make and model

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
10° at 4 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
45 °F, dew point 19 °F
Altimeter
30.32 inHg
Observed at
LBE

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.