Lawmakers try to ban experimental aircraft at VGT

Two Clark County, Nevada, politicians are behind a measure to ban homebuilt aircraft from North Las Vegas Airport (VGT).

On Feb. 9, State Senator Steven Horsford (D) and Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick (D) introduced a resolution urging Congress to authorize the Clark County Department of Aviation to ban flights of experimental homebuilt aircraft to and from the North Las Vegas Airport.

Senate Joint Resolution 3 alleges that “experimental homebuilt aircraft have higher accident rates than other types of aircraft and accounted for more than 12% of accidents nationwide in 2007.” Homebuilt aircraft have been involved in “more than 20 accidents in Clark County since 2003” and “resulted in the deaths of several persons on the ground in 2008,” the resolution continues. It was triggered by the Aug. 22 crash of a Velocity, which crashed into a house near the airport shortly after takeoff, killing the pilot and two people on the ground.

According to the NTSB’s preliminary report, the Velocity was registered in 2002 but did not get its airworthiness certificate until March 9, 2008. There were only about five hours logged on the airframe at the time of the crash. Normally, the first 25 flight hours an experimental aircraft are to be flown over unpopulated areas. The accident flight was the first test of a non-approved supercharger that had been added to the airplane recently.

The report, said that the pilot was unable to climb after takeoff. The cause of the crash has not been determined.

For information: Leg.State.NV.US.