Kilishek RV-8 N888GK

Summary

On 7 June 2003 at about 15:00 local time, a Kilishek RV-8 registered N888GK was involved in an accident near Crawford, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 June 2003 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Crawford, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Scott Airport (31TX)

Coordinates

31.5939, -97.3283

Aircraft

Kilishek RV-8

Registration

N888GK

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lancaster → Crawford

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW03LA169

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's intentional ground looping of the airplane. A contributing factor was the pilot's improper in-flight planning resulting in an improper selection of a touchdown point.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while on final approach for runway 17, a 1,900 foot long by 120-foot wide grass runway, he stabilized the aircraft at 65 knots, aiming to touch down approximately one third of the way down the runway. The aircraft "floated slightly, then skipped before settling on the ground." The pilot stated the aircraft "touched down longer than he intended, and the aircraft was not slowed sufficiently to stop at the end of the runway." The pilot further stated that he "applied full left ruder (and tailwheel steering) to intentionally ground loop the airplane rather than go into a ditch at the end of the runway." Subsequently, the aircraft nosed over coming to rest in the inverted position.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.