Jordan John RV7 N731RV

Summary

On 27 June 2017 at about 15:49 local time, a Jordan John RV7 registered N731RV was involved in an accident near Arlington, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 June 2017 at 15:49

Classification

Accident

Location

Arlington, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

33.2294, -112.9000

Aircraft

Jordan John RV7

Registration

N731RV

Category

Airplane

Year built

2004

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Buckeye → Buckeye

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR17FA134

2 people died.

The inflight overstress separation of the vertical stabilizer and rudder during flight which resulted in the pilot's inability to maintain airplane control. Contributing to the accident was an inflight collision with a bird.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot and private pilot-rated passenger were in cruise flight when radar contact was lost. Wreckage and impact signatures revealed that the airplane impacted the ground in an inverted, left-wing-down, nose-down attitude. The cockpit canopy, vertical stabilizer, and rudder were found about 1 mile from the main wreckage. Examination of the engine found no abnormalities that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the airframe revealed biological matter in a dented section underneath the horizontal stabilizer, as well as bird feathers in the cockpit under the passenger seat. DNA and microscopic examination of the specimens were consistent with a rock pigeon. All fracture surfaces examined were consistent with overstress failure; there were no indications of any preexisting damage such as cracks or corrosion. The fracture surfaces of the spars, skins, stabilizers, and other components from the horizontal stabilizer, vertical stabilizer, and rudder assemblies exhibited features consistent with secondary fractures (such as from ground impact or after the bird strike). There were no clear indications that any of the components that fractured in overstress did so prior to ground impact or independently of the bird strike. It is possible that the pilot made an evasive maneuver before or during impact with the bird, that in combination, resulted in an overstress structural failure of the, vertical stabilizer and rudder, which in turn resulted in the pilot's inability to maintain control of the airplane.          

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.