- Date
- August 9, 2020, 10:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Las Vegas, NV
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N644SBEvektor Aerotechnik Sportstar
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20200809014379A
- Case key
- 101770
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 student pilot's inadequate decision to make a premature turn onto a taxiway which resulted in a collision with a taxiway sign.
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 solo student pilot reported that during the landing roll, she was not ready to turn off the runway when the tower controller instructed her to exit the runway at taxiway "C". The pilot tried to follow the controller's instruction and made a turn at the taxiway. During the turn, the left wing was substantially damaged when it struck a taxiway sign. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The solo student pilot reported that during the landing roll, she was not ready to turn off the runway when the tower controller instructed her to exit the runway at taxiway "C". The pilot tried to follow the controller's instruction and made a turn at the taxiway. During the turn, the left wing was substantially damaged when it struck a taxiway sign. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N644SB
- Reported as
- Evektor Aerotechnik Sportstar (No Series)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 2006 0702
- Built
- 2006
- Airframe hours
- 3,038
- Engine
- Rotax 912/ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Light Sport Aviation LLC
- Registered owner
- Light Sport Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 1, 2020
- Departed
- VGT · Las Vegas, NV
- Destination
- VGT · Las Vegas, NV
- Airport
- VGT · North Las Vegas, runway 12R, 5,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 19
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 32 total · 32 in this make and model · 1 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 102 °F, dew point 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- KVGT
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 9, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.6 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.