The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand says an amateur built Van’s Aircraft RV-7 broke up in midair during a January 1, 2018, VFR flight, killing the pilot and passenger. The CAA believes the pilot lost control of the aircraft after possibly conducting an aerobatic maneuver that far exceeded the RV-7′s never-exceed speed (VNE). The aircraft had departed Whangarei aerodrome—about 60 miles north of Auckland—at about midday.
Details Emerge on Breakup of a New Zealand Van’s RV-7
Key Takeaways:
- An amateur-built Van’s RV-7 broke up in midair, killing two, after the pilot lost control during extreme maneuvers that exceeded the aircraft’s never-exceed speed (VNE) of 200 knots, reaching 244 knots.
- EFIS data recorded severe banks and pitch changes, with wreckage analysis indicating rudder flutter and structural overstress led to the inflight breakup, consistent with similar RV-7 accidents.
- Though no definitive probable cause was assigned, investigators considered factors such as spatial disorientation from inadvertent cloud entry or the pilot's potential misapplication of helicopter recovery techniques.
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