- Date
- September 27, 2025, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Torrington, WY · open field about a half mile west of the airport
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N16MRVans RV3-A
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Case key
- 201761
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Preliminary report
What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.
On September 27, 2025, about 1600 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Vans RV-3A, N16MR, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Torrington, Wyoming. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the airport manager, the pilot departed runway 10 and during the initial climb, the engine lost power. The pilot attempted to return to the runway, however, was unable to make it and initiated a forced landing to an open field about 1/2 mile north of the runway. During the landing roll, the airplane struck a berm and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The airplane was recovered to a secure location for further examination.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N16MR
- Reported as
- Vans RV3-A
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 811-3
- Built
- 1988
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Vanguard Squadron Inc
- Registered owner
- Vanguard Squadron Inc
- Destination
- SUX · Sioux City, IA
- Airport
- TOR
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.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 15 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.03 inHg
- Observed at
- TOR, 0.5 nm away
- METAR
- 272153Z AUTO 12015G22KT 10SM CLR 27/07 A3003 RMK AO2 SLP131 T02670072
Other investigations on N16MR · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.