# NTSB WPR25LA025: Badlands Vaquero, N510DH, West Wendover, NV, October 27, 2024

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report
- Date: October 27, 2024, 09:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place: West Wendover, NV · 13miles west of wendover airport on Utah side. Next to i80 mile marker 404
- Coordinates: 40.78406, -114.14928 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.7841&lon=-114.1493&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Fire/smoke (non-impact)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/150)
- Highest injury: Minor injuries
- Injuries: 1 minor
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Western Pacific Region
- Parties: FAA RENO FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 195390
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR25LA025
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/195390/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA025

## Preliminary report

On October 27, 2024, about 0915 Pacific daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Badlands Vaquero airplane, N510DH, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near West Wendover, Nevada. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that during cruise flight, about 3,000 ft above ground level, flames appeared from the right side of the engine cowling. The pilot shut the fuel and the engine off, initiated an emergency descent, and initiated a forced landing on an interstate service road. After he landed, the pilot evacuated the airplane, and the fire continued, which consumed a large portion of the airplane. The wreckage was recovered and will be examined at a later date. Figure 1. Accident Airplane (Courtesy of Nevada State Troopers)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Enroute-cruise: Fire/smoke (non-impact)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/150) (defining event); cases with it: [Harold O Stockman BADLANDS VAQUERO, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/150/sequence.md?model=05642M0), [All aircraft, 504 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/150/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N510DH](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N510DH), registered now, S/N 010, built 2024 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Badlands Vaquero
- Registry model: [Harold O Stockman BADLANDS VAQUERO](https://openairdocs.org/model/harold-o-stockman-badlands-vaquero) (registry code 05642M0) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Rotax 916 IS series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-916-is-series) (registry code 55622, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number: 010
- Year built: 2024
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Fire: Both
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed: Wendover, NV
- Destination: EKO, Elko, NV

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: calm
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 45 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter: 30.11 inHg
- Observed at: KEKO, 74 nm away
- METAR: KEKO 271556Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 07/M06 A3011 RMK AO2 SLP182 T00721061

## 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 20241027018329A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20241027018329A), Oct 27, 2024: Harold O Stockman BADLANDS VAQUERO, West Wendover, NV, Destroyed. The pilot stated that he was flying westboud towards elko, NV from fairfield, ut when he noticed flames coming from the right side of the aircraft 6 miles west…

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.

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