# NTSB WPR11FA490: Radford RV-6, N650RV, Grand Canyon, AZ, March 11, 2011 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Field investigation · Final report - Date: March 11, 2011, 09:00 local (16:00 UTC) - Place: Grand Canyon, AZ - Coordinates: 36.170276, -112.273056 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.1703&lon=-112.2731&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report March 9, 2016 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Las Vegas FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 78641 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR11FA490 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/78641/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=78641 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR11FA490 ## Probable cause The pilot's intentional flight into terrain. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Intentional act: suicide](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015): Personnel issues › Miscellaneous · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Radford Joseph R RV-6, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015/cases.md?model=05628JU), [All aircraft, 23 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120) (defining event); cases with it: [Radford Joseph R RV-6, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence.md?model=05628JU), [All aircraft, 1,074 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence.md) ## Analysis Local law enforcement representatives reported that the pilot was involved in an argument with his wife the day before the accident. They further reported that early in the morning on the day of the accident, the pilot told an individual, referred to by the police as his girlfriend, that he was going to kill himself. About 0615, the pilot was seen at the airport where the airplane was based, and, by the time that the airport's air traffic control tower began operation at 0630, the pilot had already departed in the airplane. The pilot flew to another airport, landed, purchased 10 gallons of fuel, and departed about 0820. According to recorded radar track data, the airplane flew northwest for about 10 minutes before radar contact was lost. A search was conducted; however, the airplane was not immediately located and was classified as missing until May 21, 2015, when hikers found the wreckage. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed damage consistent with controlled flight into terrain. The pilot's remains were located in the wreckage. According to the autopsy report, the pilot's cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries with the manner of death being suicide. ## Factual narrative ***This report was modified on March 7, 2016. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.*** On March 11, 2011, about 0900 mountain standard time, an experimental amateur-built Radford RV-6, N650RV, collided with the ground while maneuvering in the vicinity of the South Rim Recreation area, Grand Canyon, Arizona. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to the pilot, and operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight. The flight originated from Tusayan, Arizona, about 0820, and no flight plan was filed. There was no report of a sustained emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal. According to the Glendale, Arizona, Police Department, the pilot was involved in an argument with his wife on the day before the accident. On the morning of March 11, 2011, he was involved in a telephone conversation with an individual that the police report referred to as his girlfriend. During that phone conversation, the pilot stated that he was going to kill himself. About 0615 that morning, the pilot was seen at the Glendale Airport, and when Glendale Tower began operation at 0630, the pilot had already departed. After departure, he flew to Tusayan, Arizona, where he landed and took on 10 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel, prior to departing there at 0820. According to recorded radar tracking data, it appears that the pilot turned off his transponder about one minute after takeoff, as all radar data after 0821 was primary data with no altitude information. The primary track continued to the northwest for about nine minutes, with the last positive radar hit being at 36 degrees, 10.22 minutes North by 122 degrees, 16.36 minutes West. The wreckage was not immediately located and was classified as missing until May 21, 2015, when hikers found the wreckage of N650RV near the South Rim Recreation Area. The pilot's remains were located in the wreckage. According to the postmortem report, the pilot's cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries with the manner of death being suicide. Examination of the recovered airframe and engine was conducted on July 15, 2015, at the facilities of Air Transport, Phoenix, Arizona. The examination revealed extensive impact damage, fragmentation, and deformation throughout the airframe and engine assembly. The fuselage, wing assembly, engine, and associated instrumentation were crushed aft, and extensive fragmentation was noted. The examination revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operations, and the impact signatures were consistent with deliberate controlled flight into terrain. Additional wreckage examination information is contained in the NTSB public docket for this accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N650RV](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N650RV-2012-01-25), registration cancelled 2012-01-25, S/N 23971, built 2009 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: RADFORD RV-6 - Registry model: [Radford Joseph R RV-6](https://openairdocs.org/model/radford-joseph-r-rv-6) (registry code 05628JU) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O-360-A1A](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-360-a1a) (registry code 41594, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 23971 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A1A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Radford Joseph R - Registered owner: Radford Joseph R - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: KGCN, Tusayan, AZ ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 47; injuries: fatal; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; flight hours: 1,900 total, 100 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 46 °F, dew point 27 °F - Altimeter: 30.17 inHg - Observed at: KGCN ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Incident 20110311012859I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110311012859I), Mar 11, 2011: Radford Joseph R RV-6, Las Vegas, NV, Destroyed. Aircraft is missing and assumed to be involved in an accident. Present location of aircraft is unknown. Last known location of the aircraft is the grand… ## Docket (7 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 7, 2011, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=78641. 4.4 MB in all. - Area Map (item 1, .PDF, 94 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40353839&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Area%20Map-Master.PDF - Search Tracks (item 2, .PDF, 51 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40353840&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Search%20Tracks-Master.PDF - Grand Canyon Weather, March 11, 2011 (item 3, .PDF, 49 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40353841&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Grand%20Canyon%20Weather,%20March%2011,%202011-Master.PDF - Police Report Summary (item 4, .PDF, 60 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40436842&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Police%20Report%20Summary-Master.PDF - Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 (item 5, .PDF, 134 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40436843&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Release%20of%20Aircraft%20Wreckage,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.15-Master.PDF - Airframe and Engine Exam Report (item 6, .PDF, 15 photos, 4.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40437719&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Airframe%20and%20Engine%20Exam%20Report-Master.PDF - Changes to Factual Report 03/07/2016 (item 7, .PDF, 24 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439366&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Changes%20to%20Factual%20Report%2003%2F07%2F2016-Master.PDF 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.