Amateur-built Acro Sport I accident near Delta, Colorado, October 11, 2006
On October 11, 2006 at about 4:35 pm local time, a amateur-built Acro Sport I, registered N511SH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Delta, Colorado (Blake Field). 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 failure to select a touchdown point a safe distance from the construction crew, and his failure to maintain directional control of the airplane. Contributing factors in this accident included the pilot's limited forward visibility when the airplane was in a 3-point attitude, the soft terrain, and the rock.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 11, 2006 · about 4:35 pm local time
- Place
- Delta, Colorado · Blake Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Acro Sport I
- Registration
- N511SH · registry record · serial 01-12-47-02
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A crew was working on the parallel taxiway near the runway edge. The pilot taxied past the construction area and took off on runway 21. After about 30 minutes of flying, the pilot returned to the airport and made some touch-and-go landings. Another airplane entered the traffic pattern and announced he would be landing in the opposite direction on runway 03. The pilot yielded and also landed on runway 03. To avoid the construction crew, he maneuvered the airplane to the left of runway centerline. He noted that his airplane was "a short-coupled biplane," and that forward visibility in a conventional (3-point) attitude was limited. This caused him to get too close to the runway edge, and the left main landing gear went off the left side of the runway and into soft, muddy soil. The airplane swerved to the left, went through some high sage brush, struck a large rock, spun around and nosed down.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,157 hours in all; 22 in this make and model; 22 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 2,157 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: frt
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 60 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 1, 2006; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,230 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AJZ Delta CO at 4:15 pm
- Destination: AJZ Delta CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 03, 5,600 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.19 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from MTJ, 31 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.
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.