Amateur-built RV8 accident near Harrison, Ohio, March 4, 2020
On March 4, 2020 at about 7:02 pm local time, a 2004 amateur-built RV8, registered N878DZ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Harrison, Ohio (Cincinnati West Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The malfunction of the steerable tailwheel, which resulted in a loss of directional control during the landing roll and subsequent impact with the precision approach path indicator lights system.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made September 29, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 4, 2020 · about 7:02 pm local time
- Place
- Harrison, Ohio · Cincinnati West Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RV8, built 2004
- Registration
- N878DZ · registry record · serial 81885
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that he made a normal landing approach to the runway with a direct crosswind of 15 knots, gusting to 23 knots. The pilot was initially able to maintain directional control with normal flight control inputs after the airplane touched down on the main landing gear; however, when the tailwheel touched down, the tail began to weathervane, and the airplane veered right. The pilot was unable to regain directional control by applying full left rudder and left brake before the airplane departed the right side of the runway and struck a precision approach path indicator lights system. The left wing, left horizontal stabilizer, and left elevator sustained substantial damage. Postaccident examination and a functional test of the steerable tailwheel revealed that the spring-actuated key slide would stick in the retracted position within the tailwheel fork, which allowed the tailwheel to fully caster instead of being steerable within the normal limits intended for takeoff and landing. Additional examination revealed that the slot in the tailwheel fork that held the spring-actuated key slide was slightly deformed and that the key had several raised edges that caused the key to bind when fully retracted in the slot. It is likely that the tailwheel was able to fully caster during landing, which resulted in the pilot's inability to maintain directional control after the tailwheel touched down during the landing roll.
The NTSB's narratives can run to many pages; this is the opening. Read the full report at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database and is rewritten in plain English only where the NTSB used codes; the probable cause and narrative are the NTSB's own words. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN20CA114.