Amateur-built RV-7 N283S accident near Topeka, Kansas

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control while performing an aerobatic maneuver on takeoff, which resulted in exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, a subsequent aerodynamic stall, and impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s impairment from alcohol consumption before the flight.

NTSB analysis

On the day of the accident, witnesses saw the airplane depart from the runway and enter a near-vertical climb before the airplane’s nose dropped and began a right turn. The airplane remained in a nose-low, near-vertical descent until it impacted a grass field off the end of the runway. Several witnesses had previously watched the pilot take off and perform various aerobatic maneuvers similar to the accident flight.

Toxicological tests detected a level of ethanol known to cause some level of impairment. The test results were also consistent with the pilot having consumed alcohol near the time of the flight. Therefore, it is likely that the pilot’s impairment contributed to the loss of control as the pilot performed an aerobatic maneuver on takeoff.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR22FA254 for the full record.