Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB WPR19LA006
Vans RV6 — Cape Girardeau, MO
| Date | October 9, 2018 |
| Location | Cape Girardeau, MO |
| Aircraft | Vans RV6 (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Landing-landing roll Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 74 |
| Pilot total time | 230 hrs · Low time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1, 1 serious |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - F
- Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Ability to respond/compensate
What happened
The pilot and passenger were landing in gusting crosswind conditions following a local flight. The passenger stated that the airplane touched down on the right side of the runway, bounced several times, departed the right side of the runway, and subsequently nosed over; a witness on the ground also watched the airplane bounce, depart the runway surface, and nose over in the grass. Weather observations indicated a left crosswind component between 9 and 15 knots about the time of the accident.
Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation, and the accident is consistent with the pilot's failure to attain a proper landing flare in gusting crosswind conditions, which resulted in the bounced landing, during which he failed to conduct a go-around. Subsequently, he did not maintain directional control, which resulted in the runway departure and nose-over.