Moul Willis RV-3 accident near Bermuda Dunes, CA

On December 11, 2021, a Moul Willis RV-3 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Bermuda Dunes, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

December 11, 2021

Place

Bermuda Dunes, CA

Aircraft

Moul Willis RV-3 · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

33.740°N, 116.296°W

NTSB ID

20211211104387

Official records · WPR22LA061

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

Air traffic control records

• ATC Ads-B Data: Document (KML), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

On December 11, 2021, about 1230 Pacific standard time, an experimental, amateur-built RV-3 airplane, N9YY, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Bermuda Dunes, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a friend who had spoken to the pilot’s wife after the accident, the pilot planned a local flight, with the intention to overfly his home, located about 2.7 miles southwest of Bermuda Dunes Airport (UDD), Palm Springs, California. A security camera located at UDD, captured the airplane as it lifted off at 1226:17 and flew out of view. Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that, at 1226:55 the airplane was about .6 miles southwest of UDD at an altitude of 517 ft above ground level (agl), and on a heading consistent with a track toward the pilot’s residence. The airplane overflew a portion of the city of Bermuda Dunes, California. The airplane maintained the southeast heading for about 1.3 miles. At 1227:22, the airplane overflew a 300-ft-by-900 ft vacant lot. About 10 seconds later, the airplane had reached a maximum altitude of 712 ft agl. Nine seconds later, it had descended to 672 ft agl and began a right turn. The airplane continued the descending right turn until the end of the track data, at 1228:22. At that time, the airplane was on a heading of 124° at a low altitude, about 525 ft north of the accident site, as shown in figure 1. The accident site was imme

Probable cause

The pilot’s improper positioning of the fuel shutoff valve, which resulted in a loss of engine power, and the pilot’s subsequent exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, resulting in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control.

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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.