Nampa Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Nampa, Idaho 83686
Monday, August 16, 2010 11:50 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was performing a series of high-speed taxi test runs and planned to complete his first flight in the recently completed amateur-built experimental aircraft later in the day. During the first test run, the fully-castoring nose wheel began to shimmy, and the pilot appeared to slightly raise and lower the airplane's nose, in what was assumed by witnesses to be an attempt to eliminate the shimmy. Upon reaching the end of the runway, the pilot reversed course and made another test run in the opposite direction. During the second test run, the nose wheel began a significant shimmy, followed soon thereafter by the nose of the airplane beginning to rise. Almost immediately after the nose began to rise, the airplane, in what was most likely an unintended consequence, lifted off the runway. Soon after it became airborne, the airplane's nose lowered, in what appeared to be the pilot's attempt to get it back onto the runway surface. The nose wheel then contacted the runway, and the airplane entered into a porpoising sequence that ultimately resulted in the nose gear strut collapsing. The airplane then slid off the side of the runway, and, after encountering soft terrain, it nosed over onto its back. The reason for the occurrence of the nose wheel shimmy could not be determined. The pilot had a reported history of sinus and migraine headaches, which had previously occurred during flight, requiring the pilot to turn over the aircraft controls to a different pilot. Results of post mortem toxicology testing were consistent with the relatively recent use of two different impairing antihistamines, which are often used to treat sinus symptoms. It is possible that the pilot was impaired by his recent use of the antihistamines or by the condition for which the medication was taken, though the possible role of any such impairment in the accident sequence could not be established.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control, which resulted in a collision with terrain during a rejected inadvertent takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/16/2010
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1150
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Nampa
Event State IDAHO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83686
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 433453N
Event Location Longitude 1163123W
Event Location Airport Nampa
Event Location Nearest Airport ID S67
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 2537
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1155 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID KMAN
Elevation of weather observation facility 2537
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
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) 30.02
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) 28488
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 13 2011 11:29AM
User who most recently changed record andj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N621AL
NTSB Number WPR10LA407
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Clark
Aircraft Model RV-6A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 24062
Certified Max Gross Weight 1650
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Aug 11 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours 0
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Alan R Clark
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Nampa
Aircraft Owner State ID
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 83686
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Alan R Clark
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Nampa
Operator State ID
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 83686
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code S67
Departure City Nampa
Departure State ID
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1150
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code S67
Destination City Nampa
Destination State ID
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 19 2011 8:32PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 11
Runway Length 5000
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --