Amateur-built VANS RV-6A accident near Hurricane, Utah, October 12, 1996
On October 12, 1996 at about 12:24 pm local time, a amateur-built VANS RV-6A, registered N16DK, was destroyed in an accident near Hurricane, Utah (Grassy Meadows airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's impairment of judgment and performance due to drugs (diphenhydramine) which led to spatial disorientation and loss of aircraft control. Contributing to the accident were: dark night lighting conditions; inoperative airport runway lights; the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation; and the pilot's lack of total experience in night flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 12, 1996 · about 12:24 pm local time · cases in 1996
- Place
- Hurricane, Utah · Grassy Meadows · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VANS RV-6A
- Registration
- N16DK · registry record · serial 21630
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot took off in dark night conditions. The private airport's pilot-controlled runway lighting controller was malfunctioning at the time, and this had been reported to airport users. The runway lights could be turned on manually upon request, but the president of the airport landowners association reported that the pilot did not request the lights to be turned on for the accident flight. He was current for night flight according to Federal Aviation Regulations, but had not flown at night for almost two months and had logged only 15.2 hours of total night flight time. A witness reported that the aircraft became airborne, and that about two minutes later there was a very loud 'thud' at which point the engine noise ceased. Investigators who responded to the accident scene found no evidence of aircraft or engine malfunction, and photographed the airplane's vertical speed indicator captured at a 1,900 foot per minute descent rate indication. Toxicology tests on the pilot detected 0.094 ug/ml diphenhydramine (Benadryl), a sedating antihistamine, in the pilot's blood, 0.152 ug/ml diphenhydramine in liver fluid, and 33.400 ug/ml acetaminophen (Tylenol) in lung fluid.
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: 1,133 hours in all; 74 in this make and model; 38 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 1,080 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 243 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 3, 1995; 42 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: UT47 at 12:22 pm
- Destination: IWA Phoenix AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16, 4,400 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 045° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:34 pm from SGU, 13 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 N16DK 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
- N16DK on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1A 601 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Grassy Meadows/Sky Ranch Landowners Assn Airport · nearest airport
- Mesa Gateway Airport · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Utah 1,440 since 1982 · 264 in the last ten years
- Utah 8,355 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N16DK 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/SEA97LA013.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.