# NTSB WPR22FA348: Trom Wayne Vans RV6A, N646RV, Aztec, AZ, September 16, 2022 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report - Date: September 16, 2022, 13:35 local (20:35 UTC) - Place: Aztec, AZ - Coordinates: 32.850323, -113.36331 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.8503&lon=-113.3633&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 2 fatal - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Lycoming, FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 105955 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR22FA348 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/105955/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105955 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR22FA348 ## Probable cause The total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to turn away from a suitable emergency landing surface, his failure to maintain adequate airspeed as the airplane neared the ground, and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Engine (reciprocating)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058500): Aircraft › Aircraft power plant · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Trom Wayne VANS RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058500/cases.md?model=05628IT), [All aircraft, 497 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058500/cases.md) - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Trom Wayne VANS RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=05628IT), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: altitude](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062012): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Attain/maintain not possible; cases with it: [Trom Wayne VANS RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062012/cases.md?model=05628IT), [All aircraft, 1,310 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062012/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: airspeed](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Trom Wayne VANS RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md?model=05628IT), [All aircraft, 1,681 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) (defining event); cases with it: [Trom Wayne VANS RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md?model=05628IT), [All aircraft, 1,703 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240); cases with it: [Trom Wayne VANS RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=05628IT), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241); cases with it: [Trom Wayne VANS RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md?model=05628IT), [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md) - [Post-impact: Fire/smoke (post-impact)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/170); cases with it: [Trom Wayne VANS RV6A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/170/sequence.md?model=05628IT), [All aircraft, 354 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/170/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot and passenger were conducting a cross-country flight. Flight track data showed their flight close to and paralleling an interstate highway one to two miles away when the airplane started a controlled descent. During the descent the airplane made a turn away from the highway, made another turn to parallel the highway, and then made a turn angling toward the highway. The flight continued to descend until it impacted terrain about one mile from the highway. The airplane impacted flat desert terrain in a nose-low attitude and a post-impact fire ensued, which consumed most of the airplane wreckage. There were no reported radio calls from the pilot or witnesses to the accident. Investigators could not determine why the pilot initially turned away from the highway, which could have provided a suitable emergency landing surface. Examination of the engine and propeller found the propeller had broken aft and there were starter ring impact marks of an aft, non-rotational nature. Impact and fire damage prevented any examination of the fuel, air intake, electrical, and ignition systems. There were no signatures or conditions observed during the examination that would indicate there was any pre-accident catastrophic mechanical malfunction. Those findings and the controlled descent made by the airplane from cruise altitude are consistent with a loss of engine power before impact. The nose-down impact attitude is consistent with the airplane entering an aerodynamic stall at low altitude. The accident is consistent with a total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to turn away from a suitable emergency landing surface, his failure to maintain adequate airspeed as the airplane neared the ground, and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. ## Factual narrative On September 16, 2022, about 1335 mountain standard time , an experimental amateur-built Van’s RV-6A, N646RV, was destroyed when it crashed near Aztec, Arizona. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast (ADS-B) and OpsVue data indicated the flight departed Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM), San Diego, California, at 1209. The flight flew easterly, parallel to Interstate 8 (I-8), and maintained an altitude of about 7,300 ft mean sea level (msl) and 125 knots until it neared Aztec, Arizona. At 1331:19 airspeed and altitude began decreasing. The flight subsequently maneuvered away from I-8 for about one mile and then turned east and south-east before the ADS-B data ended in the vicinity of the accident location at 1334:28 (Figure 1). The airplane impacted desert terrain about one mile north of I-8 and was destroyed by post-impact fire. There was no evidence the pilot declared an emergency or made any radio calls before the accident. Figure 1 – Flight Track No pilot logbooks were located during the investigation. The wreckage was examined on site. Impact signatures were limited to a single impact crater, where the nose of the airplane hit terrain and where the wreckage came to rest upright, consistent with a nose-low attitude at impact. The fuselage, wings, and cockpit sections of the airplane were mostly consumed by post-impact fire. All flight control surfaces were identified in the wreckage. Flight control continuity could not be verified due to fire damage. All cockpit instrumentation was consumed by fire. See Figure 2. Figure 2 – Wreckage Portions of the wood propeller remained. Fractures of the propeller blade remnants indicated breakage in an aft direction. Impact marks were identified on the engine starter housing that matched the starter ring teeth. The impact marks were in an aft direction and showed little or no rotational movement (Figure 3). Figure 3 – Starter Impact Marks The engine was examined and disassembled. Each cylinder, piston, and the crankshaft and bearings were removed. There were no signatures or conditions observed during the examination that would indicate there was any pre-mishap catastrophic mechanical malfunction. Impact and fire damage prevented any examination of the fuel, air intake, electrical, and ignition systems. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N646RV](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N646RV), registered now, S/N 20333, built 2009 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: TROM WAYNE VANS RV6A - Registry model: [Trom Wayne VANS RV6A](https://openairdocs.org/model/trom-wayne-vans-rv6a) (registry code 05628IT) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O-320-E2C](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-320-e2c) (registry code 42122, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 20333 - Year built: 2009 - Airframe hours: 314 - Engines: LYCOMING O-320-E2C 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, April 4, 2021 - Departed: SDM, San Diego, CA - Destination: OLS, Nogales, AZ - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 63; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: left; toxicology performed ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 3 statute miles - Temperature: 94 °F, dew point 56 °F - Altimeter: 28.60 inHg - Observed at: GILA Bend, 36 nm away - METAR: 1:51 PM 94 °F 56 °F 28 % S 3 mph 0 mph 28.60 in 0.0 in Fair ## 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 20220916018949A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220916018949A), Sep 16, 2022: Trom Wayne VANS RV6A, Aztec, AZ, Destroyed, 2 fatal. On 09/16/2022 at approximately 1209 PDT, a vans RV6A departed brown field municipal airport, CA (ksdm) with a planned destination of nogales international… ## Other investigations on N646RV (1) 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 GAA15CA040](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA15CA040), Apr 11, 2015: Trom Wayne Vans RV6A (N646RV), LaFayette, GA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll in variable, gusting wind conditions, resulting in a runway excursion, and substantial damage to the airplane. ## Docket (9 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 25, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105955. 32.5 MB in all. - Wreckage and engine examination notes (item 1, PDF, 8 pages, 7 photos, 1.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15162850&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=MOR_Wreckage%20and%20Engine%20Examination%20WPR23FA348-Rel.pdf - Raw adsb data (item 2, XLSX, 9.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15163076&FileExtension=xlsx&FileName=20220916_A87D10_495433262_ADSB-Rel.xlsx - Opsvue raw data (item 3, XLSX, 134 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15163086&FileExtension=xlsx&FileName=WPR22FA348%20-%20OV%20Track%20Data-Rel.xlsx - Adsb final flight track (item 4, PDF, 1 page, 1.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15163885&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ADSB%20Google%20Earth%20Capture-Rel.pdf - Maintenance records (item 5, PDF, 13 pages, 8.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15236574&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=MX%20Records%20Binder_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Autopsy memorandum (item 6, PDF, 1 page, 104 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15236262&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Autopsy%20Memo%20for%20Record-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 7, PDF, 11 pages, 11 photos, 9.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16979098&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photos%20WPR22FA348-Rel.pdf - Statement of party representatives to NTSB investigation (item 8, PDF, 14 pages, 466 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14694509&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20party%20form_Lycoming-WPR22FA348%20Signed_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Release of aircraft wreckage, NTSB form 6120.15 (item 9, PDF, 2 pages, 1.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14660913&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Wreckage%20Release-%20WPR22FA348%20Signed_Redacted-Rel.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.