Van's RV-3A N9WL

Summary

On 27 July 1988 at about 21:45 local time, a Van's RV-3A registered N9WL, operated by DAN H. Gildner, was involved in an accident near Walker, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

27 July 1988 at 21:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Walker, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

47.0799, -94.5705

Aircraft

Van's RV-3A

Registration

N9WL

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

DAN H. Gildner

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Eden Prairie → Walker

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI88DER05

1 person had minor injuries.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT AFTER MAKING A LOW LEVEL PASS OVER A LAKE, HE ATTEMPTED TO CLIMB TO PATTERN ALTITUDE IN PREPARATION FOR LANDING AT A NEARBY AIRPORT. WHEN THE CLIMB WAS INITIATED, THE AIRCRAFT DID A LOOP AND THE PLT LOST CONTROL. THE ACFT SUBSEQUENTLY CRASHED AND SANK IN 15 FEET OF WATER. THE ALLOWABLE CENTER OF GRAVITY (CG) RANGE FOR THE AIRCRAFT IS 9.7 INCHES TO 14.5 INCHES. THE CALCULATED CG AT THE TIME OF THE OCCURRENCE WAS 16.02 INCHES. WITNESSES CONFIRM THAT THE ACFT DID IN FACT DO A LOOP 'AS IN AN AIRSHOW'. THE PLT ACKNOWLEDGED THAT HE HAD BEEN ATTEMPTING TO PERFORM A LOOP.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.