Morrison VANS RV-8 N781RV

Summary

On 3 March 2008 at about 14:30 local time, a Morrison VANS RV-8 registered N781RV, operated by James Corley, was involved in an accident near Port Orange, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 March 2008 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Port Orange, Florida, United States

Coordinates

29.0800, -81.0467

Aircraft

Morrison VANS RV-8

Registration

N781RV

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

James Corley

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Port Orange → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC08CA126

Nobody was injured.

The airplane's inadvertent encounter with a crosswind gust during the landing roll, which resulted in the pilot's loss of directional control.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the amateur-built Vans RV-8 landed the tail dragger airplane at his home airport with a 200-pound passenger in the rear seat, but with the center of gravity within limits. Winds were 60 to 70 degrees from the right, at 15, gusting to 20 knots. The pilot elected to use "half flaps" due to the winds, and the airplane touched down at 85 to 90 miles per hour behind a protective row of condominiums and trees. Upon emerging from behind the protective row, the airplane was "suddenly" hit with a strong wind gust that turned it 45 degrees to the right, toward a tree and hangars about 30 yards beyond the tree. The pilot applied left rudder and left brake, but was unable to turn the airplane. The airplane continued off the runway, into a cable barricade and ground looped, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The pilot noted that there was a skid mark from the left tire at least 120 feet long, and that he would have been unable to abort the landing from where he lost control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.