Amateur-built RV8 accident near Atwater, Minnesota, July 6, 2024
On July 6, 2024 at about 2:15 pm local time, a 2013 amateur-built RV8, registered N312FM, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Atwater, Minnesota (Stanton Hill Aerodrome 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 inability to stop the landing roll on a wet grass runway which resulted in a runway overrun.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 6, 2024 · about 2:15 pm local time
- Place
- Atwater, Minnesota · Stanton Hill Aerodrome · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RV8, built 2013
- Registration
- N312FM · registry record · serial 8Z162
- 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, while landing on a wet grass runway, the airplane began to slide and he was unable to stop before the airplane departed the end of the runway into a soft, wet soybean field. The main landing gear dug into the soft soil and the airplane nosed over which resulted in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer, empennage, and right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Runway excursion during landing (landing roll)
- Loss of control on ground during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Aircraft capability › Braking capability › Capability exceeded
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface › Wet surface › Response/compensation
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,740 hours in all; 336 in this make and model; 13 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 1,340 as pilot in command; 385 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 13, 2024
- Medical certificate: BasicMed (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 494 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, May 7, 2024
- Maximum gross weight: 1,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming YO-360-A1A (piston); 94 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: D32 Starbuck MN at 2:00 pm
- Destination: 68MN Atwater MN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36/1, 2,400 ft by 90 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 1,200 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 9:15 am from KBDH, 13 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KBDH 061415Z AUTO 19006KT 10SM FEW120 23/18 A2996 RMK AO2
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 3 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on September 19, 2024. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 4 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.