N8097F

On June 26, 2005, at approximately 1400 mountain daylight time, a Vans RV-6A airplane, N8097F, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it nosed over during landing at the Perry Stokes Airport, Trinidad, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal cross-country flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The flight originated at Arlington, Texas, and was en route to Salida, Colorado.

The pilot said he diverted to Trinidad due to weather along his route of flight. He reported flying a standard approach with extra airspeed due to the winds. He said that during the landing flare, a gust of wind caused the left wing to lower and the "left main gear to hit hard and caused the aircraft to bounce about 20 feet back into the air." He then said that the aircraft "weathervaned into the wind and stalled on the edge of the runway." The nose gear "got stuck" on the edge of the runway, the aircraft skidded approximately 30 feet, then nosed over.

The airport manager reported observing the aircraft in a "nose high, stalled configuration approximately 20 feet in the air over runway 21." He said the airplane then "rotated to the right until inverted, and then crashed upside down." He said that the aircraft impacted terrain "flat, and stopped moving."

The pilot reported that the nose landing gear collapsed damaging the cowling and propeller. Furthermore, the rudder was crushed, one of the wingtips was partially sheared, the horizontal stabilizer was bent, and the canopy was shattered.

The weather reported by the Trinidad automated surface observation station (ASOS) 6 minutes before the accident were winds, 200 degrees at 17 knots, gusting 23 knots; temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit; lightning distant to the northwest and southwest. The pilot reported the weather as temperature, 91 degrees Fahrenheit; "thundershowers approximately 20 miles west of the airport", and moderate turbulence during the flight, but no turbulence once the airplane was on short final.