On August 4, 2007, a Bass RV-6A (registration N596JB) was involved in an aviation accident near Harrisonburg, VA. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The limited fork-to-ground clearance provided by the nose gear design. Contributing to the accident was the uneven turf/dirt surface of the runway. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
During landing rollout on a private turf strip, an RV-6A's nose gear fork caught a rut, causing the strut to deform and the aircraft to nose over. The aircraft lacked a redesigned nose gear intended to reduce noseover susceptibility.
Accident Narrative
The pilot of the experimental RV-6A aircraft departed from his home airport and landed on a private turf strip. The flight and the initial phase of the landing proceeded without incident. However, during the latter part of the landing rollout, the nose gear fork encountered a rut in the turf. This caused the nose gear strut to deform, leading the aircraft to nosed over onto its back.
Two years before this event, the kit manufacturer had introduced a redesigned nose gear for the RV-6A model, specifically intended to reduce the likelihood of noseover events. The accident aircraft was not fitted with this updated nose gear leg and fork.
An X-AIR HAWK ultralight crashed in Chonburi, Thailand, killing the pilot and injuring a passenger. The accident was caused by deteriorated wing fabric and…
A Challenger II Special ultralight aircraft (U-B23) landed off-runway at Pai Airport, Mae Hong Son, on September 17, 2024, due to a gust of wind. No injuries…
The Polish aviation safety authority is investigating a serious incident involving an AT-3R100 aircraft that occurred on September 2, 2024. The investigation…
A SZD-48-3 glider suffered damage when its left wing struck a ground obstacle during a low final approach at EPWK on June 20, 2025. The pilot was uninjured.
A 39-year-old skydiver died after a hard landing near Leszno on May 1, 2026. The PKBWL preliminary report indicates the fatal impact resulted from a late,…
A student pilot crashed an SZD-50-3 Puchacz glider into the airfield fence during a solo training flight on June 6, 2026. The pilot was uninjured, but the…