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GAA18CA103

2018-01-13 · Death Valley National Park, California, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport L06

Current FAA registration · N4163B

Make / Model
VAN'S AIRCRAFT RV7A
Year of manufacture
2006 · 12 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING IO-360-A1B6 (200 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20060208
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A4ED2D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

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.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during the landing flare, about 2 to 3 ft. above the ground, he reduced power and the airplane aerodynamically stalled. The airplane landed hard, 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. The pilot reported that, during the landing flare, about 2 to 3 ft above the ground, he reduced power, and the airplane aerodynamically stalled. The airplane landed hard and then bounced, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane then 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. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Capability exceeded - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2018_GAA18CA103.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). All research papers