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Atlas / NTSB / CEN21LA227

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CEN21LA227

2021-05-12 Watkins, Colorado, United States Airport · CFO None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N51LV

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

VAN'S AIRCRAFT RV-8

Year of manufacture

2008 · 13 years old at event

Engine

LYCOMING IO-360-B1B (180 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20160331

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A66024

Registrant of record

NEAL DARREN I

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that on his third landing in his recently purchased tailwheel-equipped airplane and while decelerating through 40 knots, the airplane veered to the right and proceeded toward the edge of the runway. The pilot applied left brake to regain control and both brakes when he realized the airplane would depart the right side of the runway. The airplane departed the runway surface, the main wheels contacted the soft terrain, and the airplane tipped forward onto the nose and left wingtip. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_CEN21LA227.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.