Amateur-built VANS RV-7A accident near Jenison, Michigan, August 27, 2009
On August 27, 2009, a amateur-built VANS RV-7A, registered N811AK, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Jenison, Michigan (Jenison Riverview airport). It was a personal 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 failure to maintain aircraft control during the landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 27, 2009
- Place
- Jenison, Michigan · Jenison Riverview · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VANS RV-7A
- Registration
- N811AK · registry record · serial 70769
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that he executed a simulated engine out approach abeam the numbers at the end of the runway. He established a 500-foot-per-minute descent on the base leg to final. He angled the airplane toward the touchdown zone with the left wing slightly low. He reported that when the airplane was 30 feet above ground level he applied power and the nose pitched up 20–30 degrees. The left wing scraped the pavement, the airplane veered off the runway, and the airplane nosed over.
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
What happened, in order
- Attempted remediation/recovery during approach (VFR pattern final)
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll)
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,256 hours in all; 117 in this make and model; 29 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: condition inspection, March 13, 2009
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Aerosport Power O-380 A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 08C Jenison MI at 10:30 pm
- Destination: 08C Jenison MI
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 32
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.