Amateur-built Velox Revolution II accident near Mooresville, North Carolina, October 12, 2003
On October 12, 2003 at about 9:30 pm local time, a amateur-built Velox Revolution II, registered N296VX, was destroyed in an accident near Mooresville, North Carolina (Lake Norman Airpark airport). It was an other work-use flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision to conduct an aerobatic maneuver at an altitude too low to initiate a recovery.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 12, 2003 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Mooresville, North Carolina · Lake Norman Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Velox Revolution II
- Registration
- N296VX · no longer on the register · serial DHM003
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Other work-use flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated he entered a flat spin at 4,000 feet in the vicinity of the airpark. He kept the airplane in the flat spin too long and realized that he had insufficient altitude to recover the airplane before it collided with the ground, and he was too low to bail out. He raised the nose to a vertical attitude and applied full power. The airplane collided with a hangar and a post-crash fire ensued. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane before the accident. Examination of the airplane revealed no apparent mechanical failures.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,435 hours in all; 125 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 9,900 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 10, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 57 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 18, 2002; 57 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 14A Mooresville NC at 8:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,000 ft; scat at 4,900 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 9:40 pm from SVH, 11 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.