Platte Valley Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hudson, Colorado 80621
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 9:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was practicing short field stop-and-go landings. On one approach to the turf strip, the airplane was too low and the main landing gear contacted a berm short of the landing strip. The nose gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over resulting in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no prior mechanical malfunctions or failures, but that a gusty wind may have resulted in a downdraft.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate monitoring of his glide path resulting in a collision with a berm prior to landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/19/2014
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 900
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Hudson
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80621
Event Date Year 2014
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 400610N
Event Location Longitude 1044204W
Event Location Airport PLATTE VALLEY AIRPARK
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 18V
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 49
Airport Elevation 4965
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 173
Weather Observation Facility ID KDEN
Elevation of weather observation facility 5431
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 16
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 8000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 6
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.09
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KDEN 191653Z 22007KT 10SM FEW080 06/M13 A300
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 32533
NTSB Notification Source Pilot
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 24 2014 9:13AM
User who most recently changed record aguj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N508TG
NTSB Number CEN14CA166
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 SKYKITS CORP
Aircraft Model SAVANNAH VGW
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 08-11-51-789
Certified Max Gross Weight 1235
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 Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2013 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 570
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type C126
Aircraft Owner Name GARRETT TONY
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City GOLDEN
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 804018037
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name GARRETT TONY
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City GOLDEN
Operator State CO
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 804018037
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 18V
Departure City Hudson
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code 18V
Destination City Hudson
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 24 2014 9:13AM
User who most recently changed record aguj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 2500
Runway Width 90
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --