| Crash location | 32.956389°N, 111.763889°W |
| Nearest city | Casa Grande, AZ
32.879502°N, 111.757352°W 5.3 miles away |
| Tail number | N5897R |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 31 Dec 2016 |
| Aircraft type | Larson Roger H RV-7 |
| Additional details: | None |
The pilot reported that during his second flight, following the installation of a new autopilot, he noticed on short final that the mixture was set too lean. He further reported that "with a gloved hand" he pushed the mixture in to a richer setting; and accidently turned on the autopilot, which was located directly above the mixture control. The autopilot was set to navigation mode, heading mode, and altitude mode from a previous flight. The pilot reported that he was "fighting the auto pilot" and the airplane aerodynamically stalled, resulting in a hard landing.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall.
The pilot reported there were no pre-accident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
The pilot’s inadvertent application of the autopilot during short final, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and hard landing.