Amateur-built VANS AIRCRAFT RV-7A accident near Williamsburg, Virginia, September 13, 2024
On September 13, 2024 at about 8:30 pm local time, a 2012 amateur-built VANS AIRCRAFT RV-7A, registered N65RW, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Williamsburg, Virginia (Williamsburg/Jamestown airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 pilot’s decision to continue with an unstabilized approach which resulted in a hard landing and loss of directional control during a subsequent landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 13, 2024 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Williamsburg, Virginia · Williamsburg/Jamestown · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VANS AIRCRAFT RV-7A, built 2012
- Registration
- N65RW · registry record · serial 72204
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was attempting to land on a 60-ft-wide runway with a 10 to 15 knot left crosswind. He described that he was too high on the approach and made an aggressive right-wing low forward slip to lose altitude. While transitioning to complete the crosswind landing, the pilot misjudged his height above the runway and landed hard, damaging the nose landing gear. The airplane began to veer off the runway and the pilot aborted the landing. On the next landing, when the damaged nose landing gear touched down, the airplane veered off the runway, impacted a trench, and nosed over resulting in substantial damage to the right wing, vertical stabilizer, and rudder. Following the accident, the pilot stated that he should have gone around on the first landing attempt since he was not stabilized on the approach. He also reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Hard landing during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll)
- Runway excursion during landing (landing roll)
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Crosswind › Effect on operation
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Descent/approach/glide path › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 22,000 hours in all; 1,600 in this make and model
- Last flight review: August 29, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming/Mattituck TMX IO-390 (piston); 1,614 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FFC Peachtree GA at 5:10 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13/3, 3,204 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 22,000 ft; scat at 2,400 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.14 inHg
- Observation at 4:35 pm from KJGG, 37 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KJGG 132035Z AUTO VRB03KT 10SM SCT024 OVC220 26/21 A3014
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on January 21, 2025. 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 | Memorandum for Record - Pilot Interview Summary | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 2 | Investigation Photographs | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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 ERA24LA381.