Averyt VANS RV-4 N234RV

Summary

On 29 December 2006 at about 22:40 local time, a Averyt VANS RV-4 registered N234RV was involved in an accident near Grants Pass, Oregon, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 December 2006 at 22:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Grants Pass, Oregon, United States

Nearest airport

Grants Pass (3S8)

Coordinates

42.5103, -123.3881

Aircraft

Averyt VANS RV-4

Registration

N234RV

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grants Pass → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA07LA039

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during performance of a go-around, resulting in an inadvertent stall and subsequent in flight collision with the ground. A contributing factor was the in-flight loss of a portion of one propeller blade.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The passenger reported that the experimental amateur-built airplane was in cruise flight about 12 miles from the airport when a bird impacted the propeller, and the airplane started shaking and vibrating violently. The flight returned to the airport, and the pilot entered the traffic pattern for landing. The airplane was high and fast on final for runway 30, and when it was about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way down the runway, the pilot decided to go around. When the throttle was advanced, the engine ran rough and did not produce power. During the go around attempt, the airplane entered a stall and subsequently impacted terrain about 500 feet beyond the departure end of the runway. Examination of the wreckage revealed that one blade of the experimental wooden propeller was broken off at the hub, and the other blade was broken off at approximately midspan. Wood fragments identified as being from a propeller blade were found at the accident site. Laboratory examination of the remaining portion of the propeller and the recovered blade fragments indicated the fragments were from the blade that was broken off at the hub, and this blade likely fractured as a result of ground impact. The fracture features found on the blade that separated near midspan were consistent with a traumatic event such as an in-flight bird strike. No obvious signs of bird residue were noted on the propeller, but the loss of the outboard portion of the blade prevented examination of this part of the propeller.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.