Amateur-built PHOENIX VENDETTA LS accident near Boulder City, Nevada, July 12, 1990
On July 12, 1990 at about 2:55 am local time, a amateur-built PHOENIX VENDETTA LS, registered N44PV, was destroyed in an accident near Boulder City, Nevada (Boulder City airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
PILOT DID NOT MAINTAIN AN ADEQUATE AIRSPEED WHILE IN THE PATTERN FOR LANDING WHICH RESULTED IN THE AIRPLANE ENTERING SPIN.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 12, 1990 · about 2:55 am local time
- Place
- Boulder City, Nevada · Boulder City · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built PHOENIX VENDETTA LS PHOENIX VE
- Registration
- N44PV · registry record · serial 0051PV
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT THE END OF A CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT, THE EXPERIMENTAL HOME BUILT AIRPLANE WAS ON A DOWNWIND FOR ONE RUNWAY, WHEN THE AIRPLANE SUDDENLY MADE A SHARP RIGHT TURN. THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE PITCHED UP THEN DOWN ALMOST VERTICAL TO THE GROUND. THE AIRPLANE SPIRALED TO THE GROUND. THERE WERE NO REPORTED MECHANICAL FAILURES OR MALFUNCTIONS WITH THE AIRPLANE AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.
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: 602 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 44 in the last 90 days; 28 in the last 30 days; 574 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 33 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Hirth F30 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CDC Cedar City UT at 2:00 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 15, 3,850 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 102°F (39°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from LAS, 16 miles away
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.
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.