Amateur-built RV-6 accident near Springfield, Colorado, December 24, 2000
On December 24, 2000 at about 11:30 pm local time, a amateur-built RV-6, registered N3891P, was substantially damaged in an accident near Springfield, Colorado (Springfield Municipal). 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Total failure of the right hand flap control rod due to construction procedures/directives not being followed by the builder.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 24, 2000 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Springfield, Colorado · Springfield Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RV-6
- Registration
- N3891P · no longer on the register · serial 23736
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
As the airplane made a full flap approach to the runway, the pilot 'felt a bump,' the right flap retracted, and the airplane rolled abruptly to the right. The pilot added full power and left aileron but it had no effect. The airplane drifted off the right side of the runway, dragging the wing tip, then cartwheeled and nosed into the ground. Postaccident inspection revealed the right hand flap rod (p/n F-659) had failed, causing a split flap condition. The failed actuator rod was made of aluminum tubing threaded at each end. The pilot said, 'Wall thickness at the threaded ends is thin,' and the part should be made of steel. Vans Aircraft, Inc., said 'the failure was associated with poor workmanship rather than materials defect or structural design...the original builder had not enlarged the hole required in the fuselage large enough to prevent the rod from 'scraping' during flap extension. The continued scraping had eventually worn away the entire side of the rod and resulted in total failure.'
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,810 hours in all; 37 in this make and model; 54 in the last 90 days; 28 in the last 30 days; 2,810 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 117 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, December 1, 2000; 42 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,667 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SAF Santa Fe NM at 10:00 pm
- Destination: DDC Dodge City KS
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 5,000 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:56 pm from SPD
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N3891P the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.