Van's RV4 N250LB

Summary

On 19 September 2020 at about 15:30 local time, a Van's RV4 registered N250LB, operated by Bishop Ag Air LLC, was involved in an accident near Clovis, New Mexico, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 September 2020 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Clovis, New Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Aero Tech Inc. Airport (NM42)

Coordinates

34.4158, -103.1478

Aircraft

Van's RV4

Registration

N250LB

Category

Airplane

Year built

1998

Engines

1

Operator

Bishop Ag Air LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Clovis → Heber Springs

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR20LA310

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain lateral control during initial climb due to distraction, which resulted in an in-flight upset and impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was departing from an airport when the accident occurred. During the initial climb, he became momentarily distracted when his mobile phone rang. He looked down at the phone, which was on the floor, and within 2 seconds, the airplane had rolled inverted. At this time, the pilot looked outside the cockpit and became aware of the inflight upset. He immediately recovered the airplane into an upright attitude, but the airplane impacted the ground, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical anomalies or malfunctions that could have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.