Amateur-built Vans RV-6A accident near La Junta, Colorado, June 24, 2003
On June 24, 2003 at about 4:05 pm local time, a amateur-built Vans RV-6A, registered N199LH, was destroyed in an accident near La Junta, Colorado. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed resulting in a stall during the turn from base leg to final approach.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 24, 2003 · about 4:05 pm local time
- Place
- La Junta, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Vans RV-6A
- Registration
- N199LH · registry record · serial 23958
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot arrived at the airport at 0900, taxied to the runway at 0910, and took off at 0922. At 0929, he contacted AFSS, reported his position as being 13 nautical miles west of the airport, and requested the area weather. He was given the current area METAR and an AIRMET for turbulence. At 0930, the pilot reported that he was 10 nautical miles north of the airport and filed a PIREP. A witness later thought he saw the airplane fly over the runway in an easterly direction. Another witness saw the airplane in the traffic pattern doing touch-and-go landings. When the pilot failed to return home that evening, airport personnel were notified. The wreckage was found 0.5 miles east of the airport. The airplane came to rest in a vertical position. The propeller blades were twisted rearward and chord wise scratches were on camber surfaces. The investigation revealed that in 2000, the pilot had been involved in a ground loop accident with the airplane. After taking delivery of the repaired airplane, the pilot had complained that the controls didn't seem as if they were adjusted properly, and he had once scared himself while practicing stalls. An examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies which contributed to the accident.
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: 706 hours in all; 230 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 678 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LHX La Junta CO at 3:22 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 14 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.73 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from LHX
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 DEN03FA111.