Amateur-built Vans RV-6A accident near Canton, Texas, April 23, 2003
On April 23, 2003 at about 1:20 am local time, a amateur-built Vans RV-6A, registered N528DH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Canton, Texas (Thompson Field Airport). 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 maintain directional control during the landing flare/touchdown. A contributing factor was the soft terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 23, 2003 · about 1:20 am local time · cases in 2003
- Place
- Canton, Texas · Thompson Field Airport · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Vans RV-6A
- Registration
- N528DH · no longer on the register · serial 22528
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the landing flare/touchdown at dusk, the airplane drifted to the left of the private, hard-surface, 2,600-foot runway. The airplane landed in the grass and soft terrain, the nose landing gear dug into the soft ground, and the airplane nosed-over, coming to rest inverted.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 50 in this make and model
- Last flight review: December 2, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 110 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, April 1, 2003; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: General Motors GM4.3LG (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: F68 Anadarko OK at 11:35 pm
- Destination: 1TA7 Canton TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 14, 2,600 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 120° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
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 N528DH the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N528DH: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Engine: General Motors GM4.3LG · as the NTSB recorded it
- Thompson Field · nearest airport
- Anadarko Municipal · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Texas 6,244 since 1982 · 1,061 in the last ten years
- Texas 29,985 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N528DH 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/FTW03LA139.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.