Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Cody, Wyoming 82414
Saturday, May 21, 2011 14:50 MDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that, when the airplane was at 13,500 feet mean sea level and flying over snow-covered mountainous terrain, he changed course and initiated a descent to avoid moisture-laden clouds. During the descent into a valley, the pilot noticed “slightly rising terrain,” so he initiated a climb. The pilot reported that it appeared he had a visual illusion because he thought the airplane was at a higher altitude than the approaching terrain. The airplane subsequently impacted the snow-covered mountain and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The passenger stated that he and the pilot had become disoriented. It is likely that the snow-covered terrain and the overcast sky created a flat light condition, which inhibited the visual cues necessary for the pilot to orient himself to the terrain. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to maintain sufficient altitude to avoid rising terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s visual illusion and disorientation due to the flat light conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/21/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1450 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Daylight Time |
| Event City | Cody |
| Event State | WYOMING |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 82414 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 440148N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1094449W |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2053 Coordinated Universal Time? Same as GMT |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 239 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KJAC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 6447 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 50 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | UTC |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 6000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 11 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -1 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.97 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KJAC 212053Z 25011KT 10SM OVC060 11/M01 A299 |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 33196 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA AMN 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 | Sep 25 2014 4:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N52VC |
| NTSB Number | WPR11LA233 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PALMER |
| Aircraft Model | RV6A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 24642 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1800 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 1 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 27 |
| Airframe Hours | 556 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Joseph S Richards |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Melba |
| Aircraft Owner State | ID |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 83641 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Joseph S Richards |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Melba |
| Operator State | ID |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 83641 |
| 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 | ID40 |
| Departure City | Marsing |
| Departure State | ID |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1138 |
| Departure Time Zone | MDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | KBYG |
| Destination City | Buffalo |
| Destination State | WY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 25 2014 4:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |