ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 283454
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| Date: | Friday 16 September 2022 |
| Time: | 13:30 |
| Type: |  Vans RV-6A |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N646RV |
| MSN: | 20333 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2009 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Aztec, AZ -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | San Diego-Brown Field Municipal Airport, CA (SDM/KSDM) |
| Nogales International Airport, AZ (KOLS) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On September 16, 2022, about 1335 mountain standard time , an experimental amateur-built Van’s RV-6A, N646RV, was destroyed when it crashed near Aztec, Arizona. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot and passenger were conducting a cross-country flight. Flight track data showed their flight close to and paralleling an interstate highway one to two miles away when the airplane started a controlled descent. During the descent the airplane made a turn away from the highway, made another turn to parallel the highway, and then made a turn angling toward the highway. The flight continued to descend until it impacted terrain about one mile from the highway. The airplane impacted flat desert terrain in a nose-low attitude and a post-impact fire ensued, which consumed most of the airplane wreckage. There were no reported radio calls from the pilot or witnesses to the accident. Investigators could not determine why the pilot initially turned away from the highway, which could have provided a suitable emergency landing surface.
Examination of the engine and propeller found the propeller had broken aft and there were starter ring impact marks of an aft, non-rotational nature. Impact and fire damage prevented any examination of the fuel, air intake, electrical, and ignition systems. There were no signatures or conditions observed during the examination that would indicate there was any pre-accident catastrophic mechanical malfunction. Those findings and the controlled descent made by the airplane from cruise altitude are consistent with a loss of engine power before impact. The nose-down impact attitude is consistent with the airplane entering an aerodynamic stall at low altitude.
The accident is consistent with a total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to turn away from a suitable emergency landing surface, his failure to maintain adequate airspeed as the airplane neared the ground, and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
Probable Cause: The total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to turn away from a suitable emergency landing surface, his failure to maintain adequate airspeed as the airplane neared the ground, and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2022/09/17/yuma-county-sheriffs-office-investigating-deadly-plane-crash/
https://www.azfamily.com/2022/09/17/pilot-passenger-dead-after-firey-plane-crash-outside-yuma/
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105955
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N646RV
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=646RV
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 13 June 1999 | N81081 | Private | 0 | Jeannette, PA | |
sub |
| 11 April 2015 | N646RV | Private | 0 | LaFayette, Georgia | |
sub |
| Runway excursion | ||||||
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Media:
NTSB investigating the Sept. 16, crash of a Vans RV-6A aircraft near Sentinel, Arizona.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) September 17, 2022
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Sep-2022 02:27 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 17-Sep-2022 17:09 | gerard57 | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Phase, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 18-Sep-2022 08:39 | gerard57 | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Sep-2022 19:31 | oldnavy | Updated [Registration, Cn, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code] |
| 21-Sep-2022 01:52 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Location, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category] |
| 29-Sep-2022 22:33 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 05-Oct-2022 01:41 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Source] |
| 26-Apr-2024 22:38 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative, Accident report, Photo] |
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