Vans VANS RV-8 accident near Tehachapi, CA
On July 24, 2020, a Vans VANS RV-8 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Tehachapi, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 24, 2020
- Place
- Tehachapi, CA
- Aircraft
- Vans VANS RV-8 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 35.136°N, 118.446°W
- NTSB ID
- 20200724X65101
Official records · WPR20LA237
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 24, 2020, about 1159 Pacific daylight time, a Vans RV-8, N138PM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Tehachapi Municipal Airport (TSP), Tehachapi, California. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Witnesses reported that the accident airplane made a straight-in approach to land. The airplane touched down onto the runway tailwheel first and oscillated between its tailwheel and main landing gear several times. It then tipped up onto the left main gear and turned toward the right edge of the runway. The airplane appeared to slow when the pilot transmitted “going around.” The witness reported the pilot applied the engine power so abruptly that the engine “coughed” a number of times before it smoothed out. The airplane lifted off quickly but made a "perceivably slow" turn to a left crosswind. The nose of the airplane was "alarmingly" high, and the airplane did not appear to be accelerating. The left turn steepened as the airplane descended behind buildings in a nose up attitude with the wings wobbling. The engine "cut out," and, almost immediately thereafter, they heard the impact. Video taken from a security camera showed the airplane in a descending left turn just prior to impact. Its left wing appeared to raise slightly before it descended behind a building roofline. Immediately thereafter, dirt and debris were observed. A distant away video of the runway showed the accident airplane come into land on the runway before taking of
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at too low of an altitude to recover.
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Browse: California · Vans aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
