Portman RV-7A N131RV

Summary

On 21 December 2007 at about 22:30 local time, a Portman RV-7A registered N131RV was involved in an accident near ELmendorf, 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

21 December 2007 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

ELmendorf, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Elmendorf (28TE)

Coordinates

29.2683, -98.3350

Aircraft

Portman RV-7A

Registration

N131RV

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → Elmendorf

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW08CA048

1 person had minor injuries.

The failure of the nose landing gear. A contributing factor was the mound/uneven runway surface.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot landed his single-engine tricycle gear homebuilt airplane at a private 2,600-foot long by 200-foot wide grass airstrip. The pilot reported that on approach the airplane had about a 25-degrees of flap setting; he then "slowed [the airplane] to 80 knots on final [and crossed] over the fence at 70-75 knots." The pilot added, he made a normal landing and held the aircraft's nosewheel off the surface of the runway, until the airspeed bled off. About halfway down the runway, he stated that the airplane's nose suddenly lifted to about a 25-30 degree angle and when the nose came back down, he felt a "shutter". After the nosewheel came in contact with the runway surface, the aircraft tipped forward and while at a very slow speed, flipped over. The aircraft came to rest in the inverted position. The pilot inspected the runway and reported that about 66-feet from the aircraft, it appeared the nosewheel contacted the side of a "gopher mound" which caused the aircraft's nose to elevate. About 36-feet from the mound, and about 6-feet from where the nosewheel contacted the surface, the nosewheel track showed signs of widening. The wheel track got progressively wider and deeper until the point where the aircraft overturns. The aircraft had not been modified with the kit manufacturer's service bulletin, which increased the nose fork axle-to-ground clearance; the pilot added that he didn't think the added clearance would have helped prevent the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.