Vans Aircraft RV-6A accident near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, August 31, 2001
On August 31, 2001 at about 7:10 pm local time, a Vans Aircraft RV-6A, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N199LH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pagosa Springs, Colorado (Pagosa Springs airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate airplane preflight inspection which led to the subsequent lateral control of the airplane on the ground not being possible. A contributing factor was the unavailability of rudder control due to a headset blocking the rudder control mechanism during the takeoff roll.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 31, 2001 · about 7:10 pm local time
- Place
- Pagosa Springs, Colorado · Pagosa Springs · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Vans Aircraft RV-6A, amateur-built
- Registration
- N199LH · registry record · serial 23958
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was practicing a short field takeoff. He held the brakes and set the engine to 2,650 revolutions per minute. When he released the brakes, the airplane immediately veered to the left and departed the runway. He attempted to apply full right rudder, but no right rudder was available. He said that he attempted to control the airplane with differential braking. The airport manager said that the airplane traveled approximately 350 feet, started down slope and struck an Elk fence (the fence was approximately 250 feet east of the runway). The pilot said that the nose wheel dropped into a ditch which was along the left side of the runway. The airplane's nose gear broke aft and the airplane came to rest in a nose down orientation. Postaccident examination of the airplane by the pilot revealed that a headset on the floor of the airplane had jammed the rudder controls.
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: 685 hours in all; 222 in this make and model; 45 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 672 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 6, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 222 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 25, 2001; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-AIA (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 2V1 Pagosa Springs CO at 7:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19, 8,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.17 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from DRO, 34 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Other NTSB records under N199LH the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 DEN01LA155.