No fatalities

1 May 2013: ALEXANDER DUANE A RV-8 — Cortland, OH

Cortland, OH, United States

On 1 May 2013, an ALEXANDER DUANE A RV-8 was involved in an aviation accident near Cortland, OH. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane after encountering an unexpected soft spot in the runway during landing. This summary draws on records from NTSB.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During landing on a grass runway, an airplane nosed over after encountering a soft spot, resulting in substantial damage to the empennage and fuselage. The pilot had called ahead and was told of no concerns.

Incident Overview

A pilot making a landing on a grass runway experienced a nose-over after the airplane encountered a soft spot during the landing roll. The aircraft came to rest inverted, with substantial damage reported to the empennage and fuselage.

Preflight Communications

Prior to the flight, the pilot contacted the destination airport to inquire about runway conditions. The airport reported no concerns at that time. No further information about the nature or timing of that communication is available.

Landing and Accident Sequence

The landing roll proceeded normally until the airplane encountered a soft area in the grass runway surface. This caused the aircraft to nose over, and it came to rest upside down. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane prior to the accident.

Damage Assessment

Substantial damage was sustained to the empennage and fuselage. No other damage items are specified.

Pilot Comments

The pilot reported no preexisting mechanical issues with the airplane. No other contributing factors were mentioned.

Contributing factors

Effect on operationAircraft controlPerformance/control parameters — Not attained/maintained