Amateur-built APACHE accident near Colorado Springs, Colorado, May 20, 2011
On May 20, 2011 at about 5:45 pm local time, a amateur-built APACHE (weight-shift aircraft), registered N566RL, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Colorado Springs, Colorado (Meadow Lake airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft during take-off in a cross wind, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 20, 2011 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- Colorado Springs, Colorado · Meadow Lake · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built APACHE
- Registration
- N566RL · registry record · serial 12056
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On the morning of the accident, the pilot had removed his single-surface wing and installed a dual-surface wing on his weight shift aircraft. The winds were calm and he conducted an uneventful test flight. The pilot returned to his hangar and made some adjustments to the control bar but elected to not do another test flight because the winds were increasing at the airport. Later that afternoon, the pilot decided to do a second test flight because the wind had decreased some. The pilot departed with an 80 degree crosswind between 5 and 10 knots. He said that he did not build up sufficient airspeed on the takeoff roll and once he got airborne he was about 5 knots above stall speed and very slow. When the aircraft was approximately 100 feet in the air, he encountered wind shear and the right wing stalled and dropped. The pilot was unable to recover and the aircraft crashed on the right side of the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the entire aircraft.
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
- Loss of control in flight during initial climb defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Pilot
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Crosswind › Ability to respond/compensate
Pilot
- Certificate: sport pilot
- Flight time: 340 hours in all; 340 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: None
The aircraft
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 582; 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KFLY Colorado Springs CO
- Destination: KFLY Colorado Springs CO
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 15
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 8 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,000 ft; scat at 2,900 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.87 inHg
- Observation at 4:54 pm from KCOS, 10 miles away
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.