Stucky Steven D RV-7 N283S

Summary

On 16 July 2022 at about 16:53 local time, a Stucky Steven D RV-7 registered N283S, operated by Wake Turbulence Corp, was involved in an accident near Topeka, Kansas, 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

16 July 2022 at 16:53

Classification

Accident

Location

Topeka, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Buena Terra (33KS)

Coordinates

39.1461, -95.6104

Aircraft

Stucky Steven D RV-7

Registration

N283S

Category

Airplane

Year built

2009

Engines

1

Operator

Wake Turbulence Corp

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Gardner

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR22FA254

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control while performing an aerobatic maneuver on takeoff, which resulted in exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, a subsequent aerodynamic stall, and impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s impairment from alcohol consumption before the flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

On the day of the accident, witnesses saw the airplane depart from the runway and enter a near-vertical climb before the airplane’s nose dropped and began a right turn. The airplane remained in a nose-low, near-vertical descent until it impacted a grass field off the end of the runway. Several witnesses had previously watched the pilot take off and perform various aerobatic maneuvers similar to the accident flight. Toxicological tests detected a level of ethanol known to cause some level of impairment. The test results were also consistent with the pilot having consumed alcohol near the time of the flight. Therefore, it is likely that the pilot’s impairment contributed to the loss of control as the pilot performed an aerobatic maneuver on takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.