J.D. Calhoun, Inc. Vans ACFT RV6A accident near Weirsdale, FL

On November 3, 2004, a J.D. Calhoun, Inc. Vans ACFT RV6A (airplane) was involved in an accident near Weirsdale, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

November 3, 2004

Place

Weirsdale, FL

Aircraft

J.D. Calhoun, Inc. Vans ACFT RV6A · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

28.949°N, 81.893°W

NTSB ID

20041110X01799

Official records · MIA05LA021

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On November 3, 2004, about 1230 eastern standard time, a homebuilt JD Calhoun, Inc., Vans ACFT RV6A, N955DC, registered to J.D. Calhoun, Inc., nosed over during the landing roll at Love Field Airport, Weirsdale, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal, local flight. The airplane was substantially damaged and the private-rated pilot was fatally injured while the private-rated passenger sustained serious injuries. The flight originated about 1200, from Love Field Airport. The pilot-rated passenger stated that 2 days before the accident she flew the airplane as pilot-in-command (PIC) on a 2-leg flight, and during both landings, she felt "...some roughness and skipping occurred." Following the second landing which occurred at the airport where the airplane is based, her husband who was in the airplane suggested she perform another landing but she declined because she wanted to mentally review her procedures. She suggested to her husband to fly the next day but they were busy and elected to fly on the day of the accident. The pilot-rated passenger further reported that on the accident date, she took off from runway 18 and performed "...two rough landings much the same as I did on Monday." A wind shift to the east occurred and she entered the traffic pattern for runway 09. On touchdown, she again "...encountered some roughness at touchdown again." While taxiing towards their hangar her husband advised he wanted to fly the airplane so she secured the airplane, her husband exited

Probable cause

Failure of the nose landing gear for undetermined reasons, resulting in the airplane nosing over during the landing roll, and the pilot's decision to operate the airplane with known deficiencies in the nose landing gear. A factor contributing to the fatality in the accident was the pilot/builder's failure to adequately attach key structural members of the cockpit area, resulting in the collapse of

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.