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LAX03LA176

2003-05-31 · Riverside, California, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport RAL

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during an abrupt, low altitude maneuver during the takeoff-initial climb, which resulted in a collision with terrain during the subsequent uncontrolled descent.

Factual narrative

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On May 31, 2003, at 1012 Pacific daylight time, an amateur-built experimental Winters Glasair SH-2 single-engine airplane, N73LV, collided with terrain following a loss of control after takeoff at Riverside Airport (RAL), Riverside, California. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries; the airplane was destroyed. The local personal flight departed RAL at 1007, with a planned destination of Hemet-Ryan Airport (HMT), Hemet, California. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and a special visual flight rules flight plan had been filed. Officers from the Riverside Police Department interviewed four witnesses to the accident. They reported seeing the airplane take off from runway 09, climb to about 200 to 300 feet (agl), make a sharp left turn, and nose-dive into the ground. In a telephone conversation, with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), one of the other witnesses, a former police investigator and 3600-hour private pilot, recalled the engine sounding as though it were at full power, and that the airplane's climb performance appeared to be good. As the airplane approached the terminal (mid-runway), about 200 feet agl, it began to make a steep turn to the left. He thought that the bank was about 80 to 90-degrees. It headed straight down and the airplane's nose impacted the ground at a 90-degree angle. After the initial impact, the airplane bounced about 15 feet into the air and then came down impacting the ground again. He noted that he never heard a change in engine power and the rpm remained constant until impact. He drove up to the accident site about 2 minutes after the airplane impacted, and noted an abundance of fuel on the ground. Another officer, who responded to the accident site, reported the airplane came to rest with the wings intact. The wings' leading edges remained in contact with the ground, while the trailing edges were pointing straight up into the air. About 36 feet southwest of the main wreckage was a crater where the propeller and propeller housing were located.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman records revealed the pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. He was issued a second-class medical certificate on March 26, 2003, with a limitation to wear corrective lenses. According to the last medical certificate application, the pilot reported having accumulated a total of 1,300 hours of flight time. The pilot's logbook was not recovered during the investigation.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The FAA Toxicology and Accident Research Laboratory performed toxicological testing of specimens of the pilot. The results of the toxicological tests were negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, volatiles, and tested drugs.

TESTS AND RESEARCH

The wreckage was transported to the City of Riverside maintenance facility and examined by an FAA inspector, and an engine manufacturer's representative on June 6, 2003. The airplane had a Textron Lycoming O-320-E2A engine, serial number L-18521-27A, installed. Total time on the engine at the last condition inspection was 629.20 hours. The Lycoming Technical representative examined the engine and reported the following. The engine remained attached to the engine mounts and sustained severe impact damage to the top left forward section of the case. Visual examination of the components revealed no evidence of pre-impact catastrophic mechanical malfunction. Manual rotation of the crankshaft was not possible due to the extent of the damage. The cylinders were examined via the use of a lighted borescope. The combustion chambers were undamaged and displayed no evidence of foreign object ingestion. The left magneto sustained damage to two of the four distributor cap posts. Both intact posts produced spark during hand rotation of the drive. The right magneto produced a spark at all four posts during hand rotation of the drive. Timing could not be ascertained due to the destruction of the flywheel. The top spark plug electrodes were gray in color, which corresponded to normal operation according to the Champion Aviation Check-A-Plug AV-27 Chart. The crankshaft propeller flange was separated from the crankshaft. The propeller was attached at the crankshaft propeller flange and both blades remained attached to the propeller hub. Both blades exhibited chordwise striations and minimal leading edge damage. Flight control cables were traced from the flight control attachment points to the cockpit. All flight control surfaces remained attached to their respective hinges. The fuel selector valve was found in the "main tank" position. The landing gear was observed to be in the extended position, which corresponded to the cockpit mounted switch position. The flap gear motor jackscrew measured 3.5 inches and the flaps were observed in the fully retracted position. The experimental single-engine airplane collided with terrain following a loss of control after takeoff. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane takeoff, climb to 200 to 300 feet (agl), make a sharp left turn, and nose-dive into the ground. A post-accident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of pre-impact anomalies to the airframe or engine. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2003_LAX03LA176.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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