Zenith Zodiac 601XL N969WD

Summary

On 10 March 2023 at about 17:45 local time, a Zenith Zodiac 601XL registered N969WD was involved in an accident near La Veta, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

10 March 2023 at 17:45

Classification

Accident

Location

La Veta, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Cuchara Valley Airport La Veta (07V)

Coordinates

37.5238, -105.0093

Aircraft

Zenith Zodiac 601XL

Registration

N969WD

Category

Airplane

Year built

2005

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Trinidad

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA128

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot’s decision to fly the airplane in which he had no experience in strong, gusting wind, which resulted his failure to maintain proper airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane’s engine lost all power shortly after takeoff at an altitude of 400 to 500 above ground level (agl). The airplane then entered an aerodynamic stall, descended, and impacted the ground before coming to rest inverted. The pilot had just purchased the airplane and did not have any flight time in the accident make and model airplane. The previous owner was present when the accident occurred. He stated that he did not believe that the accident was a result of a loss of engine power. He noted that the engine runup was normal and the wind was 35 to 40 knots with gusts at the time of the accident. He saw the airplane after takeoff and it appeared to be bouncing around because of the wind. It then stalled and fell to the ground. He could not hear the engine noises due to the wind. A postaccident examination, which included an engine run, did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the available evidence, the accident was likely the result of the pilot’s decision to fly the airplane in which he had no experience in strong, gusting wind. This led to exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall that the pilot had insufficient altitude to recover from.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.