Motley Vans RV-6A N51DA

Summary

On 28 April 2001 at about 21:05 local time, a Motley Vans RV-6A registered N51DA was involved in an accident near Baker, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 April 2001 at 21:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Baker, California, United States

Coordinates

35.1972, -116.0781

Aircraft

Motley Vans RV-6A

Registration

N51DA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chino → Baker

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX01LA141

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate airspeed while maneuvering at low altitude, which led to an inadvertent stall/spin. The wind gusts were a factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot lost control of the airplane while maneuvering at low altitude and the airplane descended to ground impact. The pilot was to overfly his son, who was at a remote ranch retreat, so that the son would know to pick him up at the local airport. The airplane flew over the retreat one time and the pilot made radio contact with his son. The pilot was attempting a second pass and he told his son that he could not fly close to the mountains due to the high winds. The pilot did not report any difficulties or performance abnormalities to the son. The son said that as the airplane passed over, it rolled to the left, and then sharply to the right before descending to the ground. Winds at the time of the accident were gusting up to 24 knots at Barstow, California, located approximately 50 miles away.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.