Moynihan Richard D VANS RV-7A N787NV

Summary

On 19 February 2022 at about 20:28 local time, a Moynihan Richard D VANS RV-7A registered N787NV was involved in an accident near White Hills, Arizona, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 February 2022 at 20:28

Classification

Accident

Location

White Hills, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Triangle Airpark (AZ50)

Coordinates

35.7155, -114.4820

Aircraft

Moynihan Richard D VANS RV-7A

Registration

N787NV

Category

Airplane

Year built

2019

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Boulder City → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR22FA100

1 person died.

The pilot’s improper aerobatic maneuver leading to an airspeed that exceeded the airplane’s design limits, which resulted in rudder flutter and an in-flight breakup.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was conducting a personal flight in his experimental, amateur-built airplane. The flight data revealed that the pilot made multiple 90-degree turns before the airplane’s flight path became established over a highway. The airplane then entered a maneuver that was consistent with an aileron roll where it lost about 1,000 ft of altitude. A few minutes later the airplane entered a maneuver consistent with a split-S. Security video near the accident site captured the airplane in a steep nose-down descent before impacting the ground near airport hangars. Several objects from the airplane were seen falling to the ground south of the accident site. In another security video, an image of the airplane showed that the left horizontal stabilizer and elevator and the vertical stabilizer and rudder had separated from the empennage. A portion of the right horizontal stabilizer and elevator remained attached to the empennage. The left wing tip and canopy also separated. The accident site debris field revealed that the rudder and rudder surface skin were the furthest separated components from the impact crater and main wreckage, indicating that the rudder was likely the first component to fail. The remaining separated components were found in the debris field. The airplane data revealed that the pilot entered the split-S maneuver at an airspeed that exceeded the published manufacturer’s airspeed for that maneuver. The airplane then rolled to an inverted position and pitched down causing the airspeed to increase dramatically. The last recorded data point, at an altitude about 3,199 ft, showed the airspeed was 248 KIAS (262 KTAS), well above the published never exceed speed of 200 knots. The high airspeed allowed rudder flutter to occur, resulting in an in-flight breakup and subsequent impact with terrain. A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed damage consistent with an in-flight rudder flutter event that resulted in an in-flight breakup and subsequent impact with terrain. There were no indications of any pre-existing cracks or anomalies with the airframe structures, and no pre-accident anomalies were observed that would have precluded normal control of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.