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WPR20CA185

2020-06-17 · Clovis, New Mexico, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CVN

Current FAA registration · N1407W

Make / Model
VAN'S AIRCRAFT RV-6
Engine
LYCOMING O-360-A1A (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20070520
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A0A612

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's improper landing flare which resulted in a hard, bounced landing, and subsequent runway excursion. Contributing to the accident was the airplane’s aft center of gravity at the time of the accident.

Factual narrative

During the landing, the airplane floated down the runway in an unusually nose high attitude. The pilot responded by abruptly lowering the nose of the airplane, and the airplane landed hard and bounced. He then increased and decreased the engine power setting and the airplane touched down hard again. The right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane exited the runway to the left before it came to rest upright in a grass field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mounts and truss. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. He also reported that following the accident, he calculated the weight of the baggage and determined that the airplane's center of gravity was at the aft limit. 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-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • F Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-CG/weight distribution-Related operating info - F
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Weight/balance calculations-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_WPR20CA185.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 (runway excursion). All research papers