Amateur-built RV12 accident near Caledonia, Missouri, May 23, 2015
On May 23, 2015 at about 6:00 pm local time, a 2011 amateur-built RV12, registered N198PR, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Caledonia, Missouri. 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 selection of unsuitable terrain for a precautionary landing, 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
- May 23, 2015 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Caledonia, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RV12 NO SERIES, built 2011
- Registration
- N198PR · registry record · serial 120048
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
In an email sent to a Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector by the pilot, he reported that he was unable to manipulate the fuel station pumps where he had landed, so he decided to fly to another airfield that was about 20 miles away. The pilot wrote that somehow he did not make the right turn and became "lost". After noticing that his fuel level was low, he decided to make an off airport precautionary landing. The pilot reported that during the landing, the airplane's nose wheel caught "heavy grass" and nosed over sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings.
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
- Preflight or dispatch event during prior to flight
- Fuel related during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Off-field or emergency landing during approach
- Nose over/nose down during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Flight planning/navigation › Pilot
- cause Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › (general) › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,000 hours in all; 50 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912ULS (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: H88 Fredericktown MO at 4:00 pm
- Destination: Farmington MO
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 11 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.35 inHg
- Observation at 4:35 pm from KFAM, 16 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 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.
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 GAA15CA091.