Keith VANS RV-6A N16DK

Summary

On 12 October 1996 at about 12:24 local time, a Keith VANS RV-6A registered N16DK was involved in an accident near Hurricane, Utah, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 October 1996 at 12:24

Classification

Accident

Location

Hurricane, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Grassy Meadows (UT47)

Coordinates

37.0408, -113.2101

Aircraft

Keith VANS RV-6A

Registration

N16DK

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Phoenix

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

SEA97LA013

2 people died.

the pilot's impairment of judgment and performance due to drugs (diphenhydramine) which led to spatial disorientation and loss of aircraft control. Contributing to the accident were: dark night lighting conditions; inoperative airport runway lights; the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation; and the pilot's lack of total experience in night flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot took off in dark night conditions. The private airport's pilot-controlled runway lighting controller was malfunctioning at the time, and this had been reported to airport users. The runway lights could be turned on manually upon request, but the president of the airport landowners association reported that the pilot did not request the lights to be turned on for the accident flight. He was current for night flight according to Federal Aviation Regulations, but had not flown at night for almost two months and had logged only 15.2 hours of total night flight time. A witness reported that the aircraft became airborne, and that about two minutes later there was a very loud 'thud' at which point the engine noise ceased. Investigators who responded to the accident scene found no evidence of aircraft or engine malfunction, and photographed the airplane's vertical speed indicator captured at a 1,900 foot per minute descent rate indication. Toxicology tests on the pilot detected 0.094 ug/ml diphenhydramine (Benadryl), a sedating antihistamine, in the pilot's blood, 0.152 ug/ml diphenhydramine in liver fluid, and 33.400 ug/ml acetaminophen (Tylenol) in lung fluid.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.