Rivers William J KR-2 N7026G

Summary

On 6 October 2011 at about 17:10 local time, a Rivers William J KR-2 registered N7026G was involved in an accident near Wytheville, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 October 2011 at 17:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Wytheville, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Mountain Empire Airport (MKJ)

Coordinates

36.8947, -81.3497

Aircraft

Rivers William J KR-2

Registration

N7026G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wytheville → Wytheville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12LA011

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain control, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the airplane make and model.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot, who had accrued 105 hours of flight time, had recently purchased the airplane but had no time in that type airplane. He had been advised by other pilots that he was not ready to fly such an airplane because of the airplane's performance. On the day of the accident, the pilot conducted numerous high-speed taxis and would momentarily lift the airplane off the runway and then land again in an effort to become familiar with the airplane. That afternoon, the pilot again performed a number of high-speed taxis and then took off. The airplane climbed to traffic pattern altitude and made a slow left turn and joined the crosswind leg of the pattern. About 5 seconds after completing the turn, the airplane, which had a right-turning tendency at high angles of attack and high power settings due to its counterclockwise-rotating propeller, rolled to the right, pitched nose down, and entered a spin, completing four rotations before impacting in a field. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of preimpact malfunctions or failures of the airplane or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.