Takeoff & Initial Climb · NTSB WPR09LA308
Mayo RV-6A — Cottonwood, AZ
| Date | June 23, 2009 |
| Location | Cottonwood, AZ |
| Aircraft | Mayo RV-6A (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Instructional |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Initial climb Loss of control in flight |
| Pilot age | 64 |
| Pilot total time | 284 hrs · Low time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
The partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, and the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin.
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft power plant-Engine (reciprocating)-(general)-Failure - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
What happened
Witnesses reported hearing the accident airplane's engine sputter during the takeoff climb. The airplane's nose appeared to pitch down, level, then witnesses heard a high pitch revving sound emanating from the engine. The airplane rocked back-and-forth, the left wing dropped, and it entered a nose dive before impacting the ground. A postaccident inspection of the accident site revealed the airplane impacted the ground in a nose down attitude, with the propeller assembly separating from the crankshaft and becoming embedded in the hard desert dirt. An examination of the airplane and engine revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.