Vans Aircraft RV-8 accident near Latrobe, Pennsylvania, November 28, 2007
On November 28, 2007 at about 7:33 pm local time, a Vans Aircraft RV-8, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N103JT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Latrobe, Pennsylvania (Arnold Palmer Regional Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 28, 2007 · about 7:33 pm local time
- Place
- Latrobe, Pennsylvania · Arnold Palmer Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Vans Aircraft RV-8, amateur-built · all RV-8s on the register
- Registration
- N103JT · registry record · serial 80580
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On his third landing of the day, the pilot of an amateur built Vans RV-8 touched down, in a tail low attitude, near the displaced runway threshold. The airplane began to veer left and right, so the pilot applied power and climbed to an altitude of 30 to 50 feet. The airplane then rolled and turned left before it overflew the left edge of the runway and parallel taxiway, while continuing to turn past a heading perpendicular to the runway centerline. The airplane continued the left turn, in an approximate 30-degree bank, and began to descend toward a low wetland adjacent to the runway. The aircraft struck the ground left wingtip first, and the left wing and left main gear separated from the airframe. The airplane then cartwheeled counterclockwise coming to rest upright on the right main landing gear and forward fuselage. This was the pilot's second incident in an RV-8. Approximately one year prior to the accident, in a different RV-8, the pilot also experienced a loss of control while practicing landings, during which the airplane veered off the left side of the runway and struck a taxiway light.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 475 hours in all; 3 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 1,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LBE Latrobe PA
- Destination: LBE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23, 8,500 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.32 inHg
- Observation at 7:40 pm from LBE
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 N103JT the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.