The pilot reported that, during the landing flare at Death Valley National Park in California, about 2 to 3 feet above the ground, he reduced power, and the RV-7 aerodynamically stalled.
The airplane landed hard and then bounced, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest inverted.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the canopy and empennage.
The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during the landing flare, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
NTSB Identification: GAA18CA103
This January 2018 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.
As a matter of routine, if you make all approaches short field approaches, then the only thing that differentiates between a normal landing and a short field landing is what you do after touchdown…
i.e. for a normal landing, you let the aircraft roll out per usual. If a short field landing, you do whatever is recommended for the type: retract flaps, c.c. full back, max braking, reverse, etc.; whatever is required and available.
RVs have a quite respectable glide ratio… One of the problems of flying an RV-6/6A or RV-7/7A is getting rid of speed/altitude. On approach, if you find yourself in tight, high, and fast, you might as well bite the bullet early and go around. I’ve yet to hear an RV driver complain that there’s too much drag available… (;>0)
What is the point of this article? Is there anyone who would be reading this newsletter who would NOT know that if you attempt to flare 3 feet above the runway the subsequent aerodynamic stall will result in a hard landing that could cause damage to the aircraft????
My takeaway comes from the pilot’s recommendation in his written report – he recommended “not performing a short field landing”. Short field landings can be difficult if the technique is not correct because there’s much less room for error. It sounds like he attempted one in a challenging aircraft when it isn’t what he usually does and it went badly. So the recommendation is obviously get training and assure proficiency before trying a high performance maneuver.
Wouldn’t that be a 7A?
Yes, it was a 7A. The photo shows that the fuselage was buckled at the windshield frame.
Lots of repairs to this 325 hr a/c.
Friends who fly RV-6 and 7’s say that they don’t have much of a glide ratio.