Amateur-built VANS RV 8 accident near Fernandina Beach, Florida, January 24, 2020
On January 24, 2020 at about 7:15 pm local time, a 2001 amateur-built VANS RV 8, registered N130JK, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Fernandina Beach, Florida (Fernandina Beach Muni airport). It was an instructional 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
The pilot receiving instruction’s loss of directional control on landing with a crosswind, which resulted in a runway excursion and the left main landing gear collapsing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 24, 2020 · about 7:15 pm local time
- Place
- Fernandina Beach, Florida · Fernandina Beach Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VANS RV 8 Undesignat, built 2001
- Registration
- N130JK · no longer on the register · serial 81258
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot had recently purchased the tailwheel-equipped airplane and was receiving flight instruction in it toward a tailwheel endorsement. He had previously completed two successful landings. During the third landing with a 12- to 14-knot right crosswind and just as the tailwheel was about to settle onto the runway, the airplane began to veer right. The pilot and flight instructor attempted to compensate by applying full left rudder, but the airplane continued off the right side of the runway into grass. The left main landing gear collapsed; the left wing struck the ground, substantially damaging it; and the airplane then came to rest. The pilot and instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation nor did a Federal Aviation Administration inspector's postaccident examination of the airplane find any.
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
- Other weather encounter during landing
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Attempted remediation/recovery during landing
- Runway excursion during landing
- Landing gear collapse during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Student/instructed pilot
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Crosswind › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,583.1 hours in all; 8.6 in this make and model
- Last flight review: September 7, 2019
- Medical certificate: BasicMed
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,300 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: condition inspection
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Unknown (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FHB Fernandina Beach FL at 5:00 pm
- Destination: FHB Fernandina Beach FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 09, 5,000 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 12,000 ft; scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
- Observation at 6:35 pm from FHB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
4 documents, released by the NTSB on April 1, 2020. 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 | Record of Conversation - Pilot | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 2 | Record of Conversation - Flight Instructor | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Record of Conversation - FAA Inspector | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Photos | PDF, 2 pages | 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.