Van's RV4 N7LC

Summary

On 23 September 2006 at about 12:37 local time, a Van's RV4 registered N7LC was involved in an accident near Springtown, Texas, 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

23 September 2006 at 12:37

Classification

Accident

Location

Springtown, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Kezer Air Ranch Airport (61TE)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Van's RV4

Registration

N7LC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Springtown → Crandbury

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW06CA212

1 person had minor injuries.

The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 14,498-hour private pilot experienced a loss of engine power shortly after takeoff from the 2,400-foot long, by 20-foot wide airstrip. The pilot elected to make a 180-degree turn back to the airstrip; however, the single-engine homebuilt airplane landed short of the runway. The pilot reported that he conducted a preflight prior to his departure and reported having 8 gallons of fuel aboard the airplane for the local flight to his intended destination. The pilot added that while climbing out on runway heading "the engine quit and he was unable to restart it after switching fuel tanks." At the time of the attempted restart the airplane was about 3/4 of a mile from the departure end of the airport at approximately 400 feet above the ground. The pilot further stated that after determining that there was no suitable forced landing areas ahead of the flight path, he elected to turn back toward the airport. The airplane was unable to reach the departure end of runway 34. During the forced landing, the airplane collided with a pipe fence and came to rest in the upright position approximately 40 feet inside of the airport property. The reason for the reported loss of engine power could not be determined. The weather at the airport was reported as 10 miles visibility with winds from 180 degrees at 12 knots. The airplane sustained structural damage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.