Townsend KITFOX N950AW
10 May 1997 · Greeley, Colorado, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 10 May 1997 at about 19:57 local time, a Townsend KITFOX registered N950AW was involved in an accident near Greeley, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 19:57
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Greeley, Colorado, United States
- Coordinates
- 40.4398, -104.6702
- Aircraft
- Townsend KITFOX
- Registration
- N950AW
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- FTW97LA189
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The engine manufacturer's inadequate quality control by failing to install the harmonic balancer, causing the engine to fail catastrophically. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain on which to make a forced landing.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot was test flying his experimental airplane in the local area when the engine lost partial power then seized. The airplane landed hard, shearing off the right main landing gear and buckling the fuselage. Post accident disassembly of the engine revealed evidence of high heat distress and a lack of lubrication. The builder said he had adjusted the fuel-oil metering system on previous occasions because the engine was difficult to start and operated erratically. Operating temperatures were also high. The engine was further examined by an independent repair facility. They found that the engine did not have a harmonic balancer, which allowed the crankshaft bearings on the magneto end to move within the crankcase. Extreme internal heat build up and oil starvation damaged the crankshaft bearings, rotary valve, disk, and gear, and caused the connecting rod to eventually fail.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Jun 1997 | Piper PA-32-300T | Del Norte, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 1997 | Piper PA-28-140 | Leadville, Colorado, United States | Michael S. Luther | Minor injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 1997 | Rans S-12 Airaile S-12 | Fort Collins, Colorado, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 1997 | Cessna 305A | Watkins, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 1997 | Cessna 210 | Peyton, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 4 Jul 1997 | Let BLANIK L-13 | Pagosa Springs, Colorado, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |