Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Laramie Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Laramie, Wyoming 82072
Wednesday, August 23, 2006 18:35 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to several witnesses at the airport, the airplane was performing a low speed pass down the runway. Both witnesses stated that at the departure end of the runway, the airplane pitched up aggressively and rolled to the right. One witness stated that it appeared as if the left wing folded up and impacted the canopy. Another witness stated that airplane tumbled through the air and at that time, the wings did not appear straight. The airplane continued to roll, nosed over, impacted the ground in an upright attitude, and slid. The main wreckage consisted of the empennage fuselage and the left wing. The right wing separated from the airframe and was directly adjacent to the main wreckage. Examination revealed the right wing failed in a positive (upward) direction. No evidence of compliance with Vans Service Bulletin (SB) 96-3-1 was observed on the accident airplane. This SB states that "Pilots should perform no aerobatic maneuvers and limit flight G loads to a maximum 4.4 G's (Utility Category). This limitation should be reflected in the Operating Limitations for the aircraft as well as the airframe logbook until such a time that appropriate modifications have been completed. Unmodified aircraft must display an "Aerobatic Limitations" placard referencing the Operating Limitations of the aircraft." No evidence of compliance with FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) ACE-99-10 was observed on the accident airplane. In this SAIB, the FAA outlined the recommendations issued by Van's with regards to wing spar modification and performance of aerobatics. The SAIB went on to address recommended operating limitations for aircraft with and without the modifications such as airspeeds, gross weight, and G limits. An examination of the remaining airplane systems revealed no anomalies.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The in-flight failure of the right wing spar during aerobatic flight. Contributing to the accident was the owner/operator's failure to comply with the service bulletin issued by the kit manufacturer.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/23/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1835 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Laramie |
| Event State | WYOMING |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 82072 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 411842N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1054030W |
| Event Location Airport | LARAMIE REGIONAL |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | LAR |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 7284 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1853 Mountain Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 210 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | LAR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 7284 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 12000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 25 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 10 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.19 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 21149 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-Northwest Mountain Region |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 23 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 26 2007 9:33AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Denver FAA Flight Standards District Office |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N43EM |
| NTSB Number | DEN06LA116 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Baker |
| Aircraft Model | RV-3AB |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 815 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1100 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 1 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 500.9 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | On File |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | On File |
| Aircraft Owner City | Laramie |
| Aircraft Owner State | WY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 82072 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | On File |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | On File |
| Operator City | Laramie |
| Operator State | WY |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 82072 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | LAR |
| Departure City | LARAMIE |
| Departure State | WY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1800 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | LAR |
| Destination City | Laramie |
| Destination State | WY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 4 2007 11:21AM |
| User who most recently changed record | BOWL |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |