- Date
- September 18, 1991, 09:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Kennewick, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N391DSDonald W. Sorrels Vans RV-6
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 41541
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The loss of power due to the pilot/builder's improper adjustment of the engine idle speed. A factor relating to the accident was the soft terrain at the accident site.
Analysis
The pilot reduced power to idle while on final approach for the first landing in the homebuilt acft and the engine quit. He initiated a forced landing and the acft impacted soft terrain short of the runway and nosed over. Post accident tests of the engine revealed low idle RPM setting.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N391DS
- Reported as
- Donald W. Sorrels Vans RV-6
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 20206
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Donald W. Sorrels
- Registered owner
- Donald W. Sorrels
- Airport
- S98 · Kennewick, runway 2, 3,490 × 150 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
- 71
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 2,369 total · 1 in this make and model · 1,977 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PSC, 5 nm away