Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Fresno Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Madera, California 93637
Tuesady, October 11, 2011 11:15 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The two accident airplanes were part of a three-airplane formation flight comprised of an RV-8 airplane in the lead position, an RV-8 in the second position, and an RV-4 in the third position. The group performed a formation flight briefing prior to flight. Three uneventful formation maneuvers were performed after departure; for the fourth maneuver, the lead pilot made a radio call commanding the group to begin a climbing left turn. All members of the group responded in the affirmative, and the lead pilot pitched his airplane up and began the turn. After a 2-second interval, the second RV-8 pilot began the maneuver, following the first airplane. The RV-4 pilot then began the maneuver and momentarily lost visual contact with the second RV-8. He then made visual contact with the lead airplane but misidentified it as the second RV-8. He then realized he was in error, but, just as he was about to perform evasive maneuvers, his airplane struck the second RV-8. The RV-4 sustained substantial damage to the aft fuselage, and the left wing tip and aileron partially separated from the airplane after making contact with the propeller of the RV-8. The pilot reported that the airplane began a 4,000-foot-per-minute spiraling descent and did not respond to aileron control inputs. He regained control of the airplane utilizing rudder, elevator, and throttle control, and subsequently performed a forced landing into a field. The RV-8 sustained substantial damage to the outboard section of the right wing leading edge and returned to the departure airport uneventfully. Both pilots reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The third airplane pilot’s failure to maintain visual contact with the second airplane during the formation flight.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/11/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1115 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Madera |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 93637 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | Yes |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 365924n |
| Event Location Longitude | 1195736w |
| Event Location Airport | Fresno |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | E79 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 12 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 321 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1053 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 320 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KFAT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 336 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 20 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 11000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 6000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.87 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KFAT 111853Z 21006KT 10SM FEW060 BKN110 17/0 |
| 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) | 29271 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 13 2011 11:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
||
|---|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
Aircraft #2 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N506DC | N427EF |
| NTSB Number | WPR12CA005A | WPR12CA005B |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No | No |
| Damage | Substantial | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | COMBS DALE B | FREITAG ERNST |
| Aircraft Model | RV-4 | VANS RV-8 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 001 | 80200 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1500 | 1600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Conditional | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 6 2011 12:00AM | Oct 5 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 30 | 5 |
| Airframe Hours | 580 | 400 |
| ELT Installed | No | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | TIERRA LAND CO AND ASSOCIATES | LEGACY PERFORMANCE INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | LAKE OSWEGO | WILMINGTON |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97034-3028 | 19810-4902 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes | Yes |
| Operator Name | Dale B Combs | James J Coelho |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- | -- |
| Operator City | Fresno | Fresno |
| Operator State | CA | CA |
| Operator Country | USA | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 93722 | 93722 |
| Operator Code | -- | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No | 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 | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No | No |
| Departure Airport Code | E79 | E79 |
| Departure City | Fresno | Fresno |
| Departure State | CA | CA |
| Departure Country | USA | USA |
| Departure Time | 1100 | 1100 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | E79 | E79 |
| Destination City | Fresno | Madera |
| Destination State | CA | CA |
| Destination Country | USA | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 21 2011 3:57PM | Nov 21 2011 3:57PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- | -- |
| Runway Width | -- | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No | No |
| Medical Flight | -- | -- |