Noble VANS RV-7A N216RV

Summary

On 2 December 2006 at about 14:45 local time, a Noble VANS RV-7A registered N216RV was involved in an accident near Norman, Oklahoma, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 December 2006 at 14:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Norman, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

University of Oklahoma Westhei (OUN)

Coordinates

35.2095, -97.4990

Aircraft

Noble VANS RV-7A

Registration

N216RV

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Midwest City → Norman

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW07LA032

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A contributing factor was the pilot's attempt at formation flying.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 325-hour private pilot lost control of the single-engine homebuilt airplane while initiating the approach and landing phase of the flight. The accident airplane was selected to be the last to land in trail as a flight of three. The tower operator cleared the flight of 3 airplanes to land on Runway 03. The tower operator reported that as he watched the first airplane land, he noticed the sun reflect off the third airplane and observed it go below a tree line. Numerous witnesses observed the accident airplane approach the airfield. Several witnesses reported that the airplane was low or very low, and as it approached the airfield. The witnesses observed the accident airplane made a sharp bank, just before impacting the ground. Furthermore, one of the witnesses stated that the airplane was "struggling, tipping left-and-right, and he thought it was going to tip over" before entering a sudden 90-degree turn and assuming a pronounced nose-low attitude. The pilots of the other two airplanes in the flight, stated that prior to the flight they had agreed to slow their airplanes to 70 mph, and then to 65 mph in order to maintain proper spacing between the airplanes during their approach to land. Flight control continuity was established and the flaps were confirmed to be in the fully extended position. An examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any anomalies that prevented normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.