STUCKY STEVEN D RV-7 — Topeka, KS, 2022

STUCKY STEVEN D RV-7 — Topeka, KS

1 fatal High-time pilot

Date	July 16, 2022
Location	Topeka, KS
Aircraft	STUCKY STEVEN D RV-7 (amateur-built)
Purpose of flight	Personal
Conditions	Day · Visual Meteorological Cond
Phase / occurrence	Takeoff Loss of control in flight
Pilot age	74
Pilot total time	2,157 hrs · Experienced
Time in type	Unknown
Fatalities	1

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control while performing an aerobatic maneuver on takeoff, which resulted in exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, a subsequent aerodynamic stall, and impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s impairment from alcohol consumption before the flight.

NTSB findings

Personnel issues-Physical-Impairment/incapacitation-Alcohol-Pilot
Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained

What happened

On the day of the accident, witnesses saw the airplane depart from the runway and enter a near-vertical climb before the airplane’s nose dropped and began a right turn. The airplane remained in a nose-low, near-vertical descent until it impacted a grass field off the end of the runway. Several witnesses had previously watched the pilot take off and perform various aerobatic maneuvers similar to the accident flight.

Toxicological tests detected a level of ethanol known to cause some level of impairment. The test results were also consistent with the pilot having consumed alcohol near the time of the flight. Therefore, it is likely that the pilot’s impairment contributed to the loss of control as the pilot performed an aerobatic maneuver on takeoff.

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