Keith VANS RV-6A accident near Hurricane, UT
On October 12, 1996, a Keith VANS RV-6A (airplane) was involved in an accident near Hurricane, UT. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- October 12, 1996
- Place
- Hurricane, UT
- Aircraft
- Keith VANS RV-6A · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 37.041°N, 113.210°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X06978
NTSB summary
On October 12, 1996, approximately 0624 mountain daylight time, a Keith Vans RV-6A, N16DK, collided with terrain after takeoff from Grassy Meadows Sky Ranch, a private airport south of Hurricane, Utah. The airplane was destroyed and the private pilot (who owned and had built the experimental-category aircraft, according to the FAA's aircraft registry) and a passenger were killed. The airplane was enroute from Grassy Meadows to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Copperstate Regional Fly-In at Williams Gateway Airport, Phoenix, Arizona. Dark night visual meteorological conditions existed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. A witness reported to the Washington County, Utah, sheriff that at approximately 0620, he heard an aircraft performing a run-up in the area of the airport. He then heard an aircraft depart. He stated that at approximately 0622, the aircraft's strobe lights became visible, that the aircraft was departing to the south, and that it was airborne and climbing. He stated that he then walked around to the rear of his property, and that when he looked back toward the airport he could still hear the engine noise but could no longer see the strobes. He stated that at about 0624, he heard a very loud "thud" and that the engine sound ceased at that point. The runway at the Grassy Meadows Sky Ranch is a 4,400-foot-long north-south paved runway. A computer program used by the investigator to determine lighting conditions calculated that morning twilight began at the airport at 0642 that morning (18 minutes after the reported time of t
Probable cause
the pilot's impairment of judgment and performance due to drugs (diphenhydramine) which led to spatial disorientation and loss of aircraft control. Contributing to the accident were: dark night lighting conditions; inoperative airport runway lights; the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation; and the pilot's lack of total experience in night flight.
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Browse: Utah
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
