Van's RV6 N6000Z

Summary

On 22 December 2021 at about 23:39 local time, a Van's RV6 registered N6000Z was involved in an accident near Show Low, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 December 2021 at 23:39

Classification

Accident

Location

Show Low, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Show Low Rgnl (SOW)

Coordinates

34.2728, -109.9989

Aircraft

Van's RV6

Registration

N6000Z

Category

Airplane

Year built

2001

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Taylor → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR22FA067

2 people died.

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack following an aborted landing approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control at an altitude too low for recovery.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses reported that a high-wing airplane and a low-wing airplane were on final approach for landing to the same runway, with the high-wing airplane ahead of and slightly below the low-wing airplane. An airport employee stated that the pilot of the high-wing airplane was making position reports over the airport’s common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF), but the pilot of the low-wing airplane was not. The employee transmitted via the CTAF that there were two airplanes on final approach, at which time the pilot of the high-wing airplane aborted the landing. That pilot reported that he never saw the other airplane. The pilot of the low-wing airplane (accident airplane) subsequently transmitted that he had been using the wrong radio frequency and aborted the landing approach, entering a right turn away from the runway at low altitude. Witnesses reported that, during the turn, the accident airplane entered a nose-low descent that continued until it impacted the ground. The airplane impacted terrain in a near-vertical, nose-down attitude. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack while maneuvering away from the runway during the aborted landing approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control at an altitude too low for recovery. It is possible that the high-density altitude conditions and the distraction of looking for conflicting traffic may have contributed to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.