Walton RV-6 N796W

Summary

On 11 October 2000 at about 19:30 local time, a Walton RV-6 registered N796W was involved in an accident near Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 October 2000 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Lake Elmo Airport (21D)

Coordinates

44.9907, -92.9006

Aircraft

Walton RV-6

Registration

N796W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI01LA008

Nobody was injured.

The rudder tube failure, and aircraft control not possible during the flare by the pilot. A factor was the service bulletin not being complied with by the mechanic during the condition inspection.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane sustained substantial damage on impact with terrain during a landing. The pilot was uninjured. The pilot stated, "... Went out to do a few landings and after rounding out and 3 ft. above runway, my right rudder pedal failed causing my airplane to yaw left, strike left wingtip and cartwheel approx. 3 times before coming to rest on its gear." An on-scene examination revealed the right rudder pedal was separated from its cross tube. The airplane's condition inspection was performed on January 21, 2000. No entries indicating the compliance with SB 99-6-1 were found. A kit manufacturer's representative stated, "I researched the method by which we distribute service bulletins and, with each bulletin, we do a direct mailing to each customer, publish the SB in the newsletter and place it on our web site. If we are notified of change of ownership, we mail to the new owner. ... The SB would have gone to [the builder]." The builder stated, "I did not receive such bulletin. Had I, I certainly would have forwarded it to [the current owner]."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.