# NTSB SEA97LA145: Ross/Stonecipher Vans RV-6, N345JE, Woods Cross, UT, June 20, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 19, 1997, 19:30 local (Jun 20, 1997, 01:30 UTC) - Place: Woods Cross, UT - Coordinates: 40.890514, -111.929176 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.8905&lon=-111.9292&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report July 13, 1998 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 42636 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA97LA145 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/42636/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA97LA145 ## Probable cause a bird strike, which penetrated the aircraft canopy. High grass (hay crop) in the forced landing area was a related factor. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, go-around (vfr) - object - bird(s) (cause) - Airframe/component/system failure/malfunction, go-around (vfr) - window,canopy - failure - go-around - initiated, pilot in command - airframe - vibration - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - Nose over, emergency landing - terrain condition - crop (contributing factor) ## Analysis After initiating a go-around at 100 feet above ground level, the aircraft struck a bird on the pilot's side of the aircraft canopy. The bird penetrated the canopy and struck the pilot's face. The pilot retarded power and cleared his vision, and decided he would not be able to land without overrunning the runway into fences and deep ditches. He attempted to continue the go-around, but then noted an increase in aircraft vibration. He therefore elected to land the aircraft in a hay field just beyond the departure end of the runway. The grass was approximately 2 feet high in the forced landing field. The airplane flipped over during the forced landing. ## Factual narrative On June 19, 1997, approximately 1930 mountain daylight time, a Ross/Stonecipher Vans RV-6 experimental-category aircraft was substantially damaged in a forced landing near Woods Cross, Utah, following a bird strike during a go-around from runway 34 at Bountiful Skypark, Bountiful, Utah. The commercial pilot, who owned the aircraft and was its sole occupant, received minor injuries in the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the 14 CFR 91 flight, which was a local flight out of Bountiful Skypark. The pilot reported that he initiated a go-around at about 100 feet above ground level (AGL). About one-third of the way down the runway, the aircraft struck a bird on the left side of the aircraft's canopy. The bird penetrated the canopy, striking the right side of the pilot's face. The pilot stated that he throttled back immediately, and that the rest of the canopy then broke loose. The pilot reported that at this point, blood from the bird and from him was "all over" his glasses. He stated that he cleared his vision, and decided a landing could not be accomplished on the runway at that point without an overrun (he stated that there are fences and deep ditches at the departure end of runway 34.) He added power for a go-around, but then felt increased vibration and thought he may have hit the bird first with the aircraft's propeller. He stated that he then selected a hay field ahead of the aircraft for a landing. He stated that the landing was successful "until the right wheel caught the wheel pant" and flipped the airplane over (a Davis County, Utah, sheriff's official who responded to the accident scene also reported to the NTSB investigator-in-charge that the crop in the landing field was about 2 feet high.) ## Aircraft - Registration: [N345JE](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N345JE), registered now, S/N 20847, built 1990 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Ross/Stonecipher VANS RV-6 - Registry model: [Ross/Stonecipher VANS RV-6](https://openairdocs.org/model/ross-stonecipher-vans-rv-6) (registry code 05608KS) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-360-A1A](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-a1a) (registry code 41818, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 20847 - Airframe hours: 483 - Engines: Lycoming IO-360-A1A 200 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: John M. Perri - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, September 25, 1996, 41 hours before - Departed: BTF, BOUNTIFUL, UT - Airport: BTF, Bountiful Skypark, runway 34, 4,425 × 70 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 49; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 1,128 total, 395 in this make and model, 1,058 as pilot in command, 51 in the last 90 days, 16 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 30 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 81 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19970620015149A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970620015149A), Jun 20, 1997: Amtr RV6, Bountiful, UT, Substantial damage. Struck large bird on go around. Impact broke canopy. Injured pilot. Elected land in tall hay. Nosed over. ## Other investigations on N345JE (2) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB ATL07CA123](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL07CA123), Aug 20, 2007: Vans Vans RV-6 (N345JE), Stockbridge, GA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during the landing roll. - [NTSB DEN05LA070](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN05LA070), Apr 22, 2005: Ross/Stonecipher Vans RV-6 (N345JE), Longmont, CO, substantial damage. Probable cause: the loss of engine power due to oil starvation. A contributing factor was the contamination in the inverted oil system's separator. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.