NTSB Factual Report

On August 21, 2002, about 1930 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Barnes Vans RV6, N190TB, registered to an individual, impacted with trees during an aborted landing at a private airstrip near Chesnee, South Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane was substantially damaged. The private-rated pilot reported serious injuries. The flight had departed from the State Line Ultraport, Chesnee, at 1900.

According to the pilot he had landed in an easterly direction at his private grass airstrip. The airstrip was about 1,300 feet in length, and has a hump in the middle. He attempted to land before the hump. He said at touchdown the airplane "bounced" and touched down a "second time." He added full power to the engine and the airplane "veered to the left." The left wing struck some trees, and then nosed over.

An interview with the pilot by an FAA inspector revealed that he flew the approach slow, about 65 knots, with full flaps, because he wanted to land before the hump in the runway. During the flare the nose would not come up any higher, so the airplane hit the ground hard, and bounced high. The FAA inspector asked the pilot if the airplane had encountered any mechanical discrepancies and the pilot stated that it did not.

NTSB Probable Cause

the pilot misjudged the landing flare, resulting in a hard landing, loss of directional control, and damage to the airplane.