Sheridan Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sheridan, Wyoming 82801
Friday, July 29, 2011 10:10 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that when the airplane lifted off he became distracted by his headset's noise canceling control and suddenly the nose wheel of the airplane hit the ground hard. The pilot immediately pulled back on the controls and initiated a climb to assess the damage. After 15 minutes of flight, the emergency crew on the ground assessed that the nose gear was bent and the pilot prepared for an emergency landing. The pilot opted to land on the grass and as he set the airplane down on the surface the front gear leg collapsed and the airplane tilted up on its propeller before falling back down onto its main gear and substantially damaging the rudder. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during takeoff due to cockpit distractions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/29/2011
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1010
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Sheridan
Event State WYOMING
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 82801
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 444729N
Event Location Longitude 1065713W
Event Location Airport Sheridan
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KSHR
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 4021
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 830 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID KSHR
Elevation of weather observation facility 4021
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Dawn
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.06
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report SA 29/07/2011 14:53-> METAR KSHR 291453Z AUTO 0000
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 28907
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 19 2011 7:11PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N742RJ
NTSB Number WPR11CA353
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name SLOAN ROGER D
Aircraft Model VANS RV7A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 71582
Certified Max Gross Weight 2030
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 Jul 2 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 26
Airframe Hours 474
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name SLOAN ROGER D
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City GROVELAND
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95321-9554
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name SLOAN ROGER D
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City GROVELAND
Operator State CA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 95321-9554
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 KSHR
Departure City Sheridan
Departure State WY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 3U2
Destination City Yellow Pine
Destination State ID
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 19 2011 7:08PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 14
Runway Length 8300
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --