The pilot purchased the Van’s RV-4 the day before the accident.
During a landing at the airport in London, Kentucky, the airplane bounced. The pilot intended to abort the landing, however he accidentally advanced the elevator trim lever, rather than the throttle lever (which were similarly positioned and shaped).
The airplane touched down a second time nose-low, resulting in damage to the main landing gear and propeller. Several fuselage tubes were also substantially damaged during the landing.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s inadvertent application of nose down pitch trim during the attempted aborted landing, which resulted in abnormal contact with the runway.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This November 2023 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.
Home built aircraft means that the builder has input to the construction process.To avoid this type of confusion is why the constructor needs to have different styles of knobs/handles on each separate control – carb heat mixture etc that allows the pilot to recognize the different systems . An ability to distinguish each control by touch as well as sight is a basic consideration in all cockpit design and layout.