- Date
- May 14, 2022, 12:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Deming, NM
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N669RSSparks Ralph A RV8
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- 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
- 20220514006179A
- Case key
- 105090
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 pilot’s loss of airplane control during takeoff following an encounter with a gust of wind.
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 pilot reported during takeoff he felt no wind and the windsock at the end of the runway showed no wind. As the main wheels lifted off the runway, he felt a hard wind gust that turned the airplane left. The pilot continued to feel turbulence and the airplane’s nose subsequently hit the ground and the airplane slid sideways to a stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N669RS
- Reported as
- Sparks Ralph A RV8
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 82203
- Built
- 2008
- Engine
- TMX O360, 180 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Destination
- KCHD · Chandler, AZ
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- DMN · Deming Muni, runway 08, 8,018 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Handheld GPS
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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2021
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 506 total · 118 in this make and model · 420 as pilot in command · 16 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 4.5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 7° at 8 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 89 °F
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 22, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.8 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.