Vans RV6 accident near Hitchcock, TX
On December 8, 2020, a Vans RV6 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Hitchcock, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 8, 2020
- Place
- Hitchcock, TX
- Aircraft
- Vans RV6 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 29.343°N, 95.004°W
- NTSB ID
- 20201209102390
Official records · CEN21LA080
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On December 8, 2020, about 1540 central standard time, a Vans RV-6 airplane, N69HF, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Hitchcock, Texas. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. Family members and a friend stated that the pilot had gone to the airport the day of the accident to work on the airplane’s magnetos and did not take his flying gear or indicate that he would fly that day. Witnesses observed the pilot conduct maintenance on the airplane in front of his hangar at the airport. One witness talked to the pilot while he was working on the airplane and described him as “distracted,” and the pilot avoided talking to him. The witness further stated that the pilot acted “very distant,” and he thought the pilot may have been impaired. The accident airplane was located in front of the pilot’s hangar in the ramp area that was on the north end of the airport between two rows of hangars. About 1415, one witness heard the airplane’s engine start and saw the pilot in the cockpit of the airplane with the canopy closed. He heard the engine power increase and watched the airplane take off from the ramp area to the west. He said that the airplane became airborne as it entered the grassy area between the taxiway and runway 18/36, and it bounced, pitched, and yawed erratically as it accelerated. A pilot who was in his airplane on the parallel taxiway near the hangar area, saw the airplane “shoot out” of the ramp area about 200 yards in front of him and become airborne as it entere
Probable cause
The pilot’s impairment by the effects of ingested alcohol, which resulted in the loss of airplane control and impact with terrain.
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Browse: Texas · 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.
