Vans VANS RV-8 — Tehachapi, CA

What happened

Witnesses reported that the accident airplane made a straight-in approach to land. The airplane touched down onto the runway tailwheel first and oscillated between its tailwheel and main landing gear several times. It then tipped up onto the left main gear and turned toward the right edge of the runway surface. The pilot initiated an aborted landing and according to a witness, the airplane lifted off quickly but made a "perceivably slow" turn to a left crosswind. The nose of the airplane was "alarmingly" high, and the airplane did not appear to be accelerating. The left turn steepened as the airplane descended behind buildings in a nose-up attitude with the wings wobbling. The engine "cut out" and, almost immediately thereafter. they heard the impact.

The airframe and engine examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Recorded data from the airplane was consistent with what the witnesses reported. The engine power never exceeded 67%, which is likely why the airplane did not appear to accelerate during the takeoff; however, this would not have resulted in the loss of control. Given the reported nose-high attitude and steep left turn, it is likely the pilot exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack and that it stalled at an altitude too low for the pilot to recover before it impacted the building.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.