E Newton NEWTON RV-6A N57ME

Summary

On 13 March 2006 at about 15:45 local time, a E Newton NEWTON RV-6A registered N57ME, operated by Steve Allen Vanhoy, was involved in an accident near Mooresville, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 March 2006 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Mooresville, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Miller Air Park (NC30)

Coordinates

35.6139, -80.7414

Aircraft

E Newton NEWTON RV-6A

Registration

N57ME

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Steve Allen Vanhoy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Mooresville → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL06LA052

1 person had minor injuries.

The collapse of the nose landing gear for undetermined reasons, which resulted in a nose over.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he made a normal approach to runway 36, which is a 2,000-foot smooth grass runway. During the touchdown the airplane skipped slightly and then touched down normally. The pilot stated that during the roll out everything was normal until the nose started to drop. He applied full up elevator but could not arrest the descent of the nose. The airplane slid approximately 40 feet and then nosed over. After he exited the airplane and examined the nose gear he found that the nose gear was bent aft. Further examination revealed that there was a dead rabbit just prior to where the nose gear started making a trench in the grass. The airplane came to a stop in the center of the runway with approximately 900 feet remaining on the runway. The pilot did not report any malfunctions with the airplane prior to the accident. The nose landing gear was sent to the National Transportation Safety Board materials laboratory for further examination. The wheel was removed, dissembled, and examined. Due to the reported animal impact of the nose landing gear, a swab was taken from the inside wheel fairing. A phenolphthalein presumptive blood test was performed on the swab, and the result was positive for blood.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.