Pank KITFOX UNREG

Summary

On 3 July 2002 at about 22:30 local time, a Pank KITFOX registered UNREG was involved in an accident near Sprakers, New York, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 July 2002 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Sprakers, New York, United States

Coordinates

42.8911, -74.5136

Aircraft

Pank KITFOX

Registration

UNREG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sprakers → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC02LA129

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in category of aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

After recently finishing the airplane, the pilot conducted some taxi test, made some modifications to the airplane, and then flew it for the first time. The pilot completed four right traffic patterns, the airplane was unstable during the flight, and the pilot had trouble landing the airplane. The pilot tightened the engine mounts, and then flew the airplane for a second time. Stability improved on the second flight, and once again, the pilot executed right traffic. On the pilot's forth landing attempt, the airplane bounced four times, engine noise increased, and the airplane entered a "very aggressive climb." Pitch angle then reduced to about 10 to 15 degrees, and the airplane turned left crosswind about 300 feet agl. The airplane continued to climb at a "very slow airspeed, and "entered a left bank. Bank angle increased to 60 degrees, and the airplane entered a left spin before impacting the ground. The wind was from the west at 10 to 15 knots. The pilot never held a pilot rating, and had approximately 200 hours of flight experience in ultralight airplanes.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.