Amateur-built VANS RV6A accident near O'Brien, Florida, January 29, 2021
On January 29, 2021 at about 7:35 pm local time, a 2000 amateur-built VANS RV6A, registered N9136R, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near O'Brien, Florida (O'Brien Airpark East/West airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor’s improper soft field landing technique while landing on a turf runway, which resulted in a nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 29, 2021 · about 7:35 pm local time
- Place
- O'Brien, Florida · O'Brien Airpark East/West · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VANS RV6A, built 2000
- Registration
- N9136R · registry record · serial 23389
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the owner of the experimental amateur-built airplane, a (light sport) flight instructor was providing transition training to him after he had recently purchased the airplane. The owner and flight instructor flew from where the airplane was based, an airport with a turf runway that was 2,400 ft-long and 100 ft-wide, to a nearby airport with a paved runway and performed several practice takeoffs and landings. They then returned to the departure airport, and the flight instructor was demonstrating a landing to the turf runway for the airplane owner. The flight instructor described that he landed the airplane about 850 feet beyond the runway threshold, and that it rolled an additional 650 feet before the nosewheel touched down. Within 40 feet of the nosewheel touching the runway, the airplane suddenly nosed over. The airplane’s vertical stabilizer was substantially damaged. The owner, and another witness to the accident, both described that following the accident they observed two ground scars on the runway that were 14 and 21 feet in length, that reached a depth of 5 inches and 12 inches, respectively. The second 12-inch-deep scar ended just before the airplane nosed over and came to rest. Given this information, it is likely that the flight instructor’s improper soft-field landing technique resulted in excessive weight being placed on the nose landing gear during the landing, resulting the nosewheel digging into the turf runway, and ultimately resulting in the nose over during the landing.
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
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Landing flare › Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Instructor/check pilot
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: sport pilot
- Flight time: 950 hours in all; 350 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 900 as pilot in command; 50 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 1, 2020
- Medical certificate: BasicMed
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: minor injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 100 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 32 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 396 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 20, 2020; 22 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 3,662 hours total
- Operator: Winsors Pollitos Farm LLC
The flight
- Departed from: 24J Live Oak FL at 7:22 pm
- Destination: FD71 O'Brien FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18/3, 2,400 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 65°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:20 pm from 24J, 16 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | 1 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 ERA21LA120.