The pilot had purchased the RV-6A the day before, and was returning to his home airport when he elected to stop at an intermediate airport in Pikeville, Kentucky, for fuel.
After crossing the runway threshold, he reduced engine power and entered the landing flare. He felt the airplane “balloon up slightly, then stall and drop around 15 feet” onto the runway.
The airplane hit the runway, the nose landing gear collapsed, and it subsequently ran off the side of the runway, where it came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the rudder and minor injuries to the pilot.
Photographs of the airplane taken by the airport manager following the accident depicted the presence of rime ice along the leading edges of the wings, horizontal stabilizer, and vertical stabilizer.
The pilot reported he had not obtained a weather briefing, but had conducted a cursory review of enroute weather via an online vendor prior to the flight, and was not aware of icing conditions along his intended route of flight.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed during landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to obtain a preflight weather briefing, and his subsequent flight into icing conditions, which resulted in the accumulation of ice on the airframe.
NTSB Identification: ERA15CA100
This January 2015 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Sad that you did not publish the pictures taken by the airport manager to show the extend of the icing!
Normally this concatenation results in a stall and fatal crash after oblivious pilots slow to their “normal” approach speed on one mile final despite a shitload of weight-adding/lift-destroying ice. Perhaps this new owner’s anxiety about and insecurity/unfamiliarity with an aircraft he was a novice in caused him to “add 10 knots for the wife & kids” and indirectly saved his life.
Agree with Bob Eicholz – very unfortunate accident. But keep in mind that a full standard briefing may not include all conditions that the pilot eventually finds enroute. So whether he got a briefing or not, if icing conditions are encountered, the pilot should take appropriate action such as activating available de-ice systems, changing altitude and/or changing direction including a 180, and get on the ground before the accumulation reaches a dangerous level. If there is any evidence or suspicion of accumulation, the general recommendations should be followed for the approach and landing – adjust approach speed higher, no flaps, and long enough runway.
So sad to see stories like this. How can a pilot go on a cross country without a weather briefing? After all we’ve learned about GA and preventing accidents, it’s shocking to me that preventable accidents like this happen. Truth be told, with that kind of icing, the guy’s lucky to be alive to tell the story.