Van's VANS RV 6 N327WB

Summary

On 25 July 2020 at about 18:49 local time, a Van's VANS RV 6 registered N327WB was involved in an accident near Imperial, Nebraska, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 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

25 July 2020 at 18:49

Classification

Accident

Location

Imperial, Nebraska, United States

Nearest airport

Private (PRIV)

Coordinates

40.4069, -101.6175

Aircraft

Van's VANS RV 6

Registration

N327WB

Category

Airplane

Year built

1996

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Imperial → Imperial

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20CA307

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight performance planning and his decision not to utilize all available runway during high density altitude operations which led to an inflight loss of control and subsequent collision with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that this was his third passenger carrying flight of the day and he determined his takeoff weight was about 146 lbs below max gross weight. For the takeoff from the grass strip, he elected not to utilize flaps or the full length of the runway, leaving about 100-200 ft behind him. During the takeoff roll, the pilot had the sense that the roll was taking longer than normal, and he began to be concerned about powerlines at the end of the runway. When about 10-25 ft above the ground, he began a shallow bank turn to the right. Immediately after starting the turn, he flew over a corn field and experienced a loss of lift. The airplane then impacted the corn, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot noted that he listened to the density altitude reported on the Automated Weather Observing System for a nearby airport but did not process the effects it would have on the accident flight. The density altitude was about 6,184 ft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.