Gray RV-6 N69KG

Summary

On 1 August 2009 at about 19:50 local time, a Gray RV-6 registered N69KG, operated by Justin C. Walker, was involved in an accident near Caldwell, Idaho, 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

1 August 2009 at 19:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Caldwell, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Caldwell Industrial Airport (EUL)

Coordinates

43.6481, -116.6406

Aircraft

Gray RV-6

Registration

N69KG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Justin C. Walker

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Caldwell → Caldwell

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09LA378

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed that led to a stall/spin while maneuvering in the traffic pattern.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to a family member of the pilot, the airplane had sat on the airport's ramp for about a year without having been flown. About a week before the accident, the pilot flew the airplane once around the traffic pattern. On the day of the accident, the pilot had removed and sandblasted the spark plugs, checked the cylinders for compression, and removed and cleaned the air filter; the filter was reported to have had "some goop" on it. A witness reported observing the airplane take off, and, as it went by him at 100 to 200 feet above ground level, he heard a "popping noise." He subsequently observed the airplane make a quick left turn to a left downwind leg, and as the airplane continued on the downwind he observed the nose increase in pitch, but it was not climbing. As the airplane came abeam the numbers, it made a steep left turn, followed by the nose dropping before it dove into the ground and erupted in flames. The airplane was consumed by a post impact fire. A post accident examination of the engine revealed no anomalies with the cylinders and valve train. All spark plugs were found to have excessive gaps, and all but one failed a bench check when exposed to pressure greater than 80 psi. A post accident examination of the airframe revealed no anomalies. No aircraft or engine logbooks were located during the investigation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.