The pilots were landing at Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) for the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture air show in a staggered four-airplane formation.
They were cleared to fly to the orange dot and land on the green dot on Runway 27. The RV-8 was in the No. 2 position and the RV-7 was right behind it in the No. 3 position.
After the pilot of the RV-8 touched down, air traffic control instructed the flight to turn left onto the grass. He stated that he started the turn “without regarding the airplane behind” him.
The RV-7 hit his airplane’s rudder, then right wing. Both the rudder and aileron sustained substantial damage.
The pilot of the RV-7 reported that his airplane touched down and bounced. It settled back onto the runway and started to slow. As the tailwheel touched down, he lost sight of the RV-8.
When the RV-8 came back into view, it was turning left directly in front of his airplane. The pilot immediately applied the brakes and swerved hard to the right, but his left wing hit the RV-8’s rudder, followed by the right wing and aileron. The RV-7’s horizontal stabilizer sustained substantial damage.
Both pilots reported that the air show environment created pressure to land, stop, and get off the runway into the grass as quickly as possible.
The pilot of the RV-8 also mentioned that their group of four pilots had been flying together for a very long time and they regularly conduct staggered landings. However, they normally had a very long rollout before turning onto the taxiway.
Probable Cause: The RV-8 pilot’s failure to account for the position of the RV-7 behind him during the landing roll in a staggered landing formation, which resulted in a ground collision of the two airplanes. Contributing to the accident was the self-induced pressure created by the air show environment to land, stop, and get off the runway into the grass as quickly as possible.
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This July 2021 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.
Already had at least one RV landing mishap this year, on Thursday 7-20-23.
Bent the bird but I don’t believe there were any injuries.
Y’all be careful up there, ya here!