Simoneau KITFOX CLASSIC IV N10224

Summary

On 14 September 2003 at about 14:30 local time, a Simoneau KITFOX CLASSIC IV registered N10224 was involved in an accident near Limington, Maine, 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.

Date

14 September 2003 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Limington, Maine, United States

Nearest airport

Limington-Harmon (63B)

Coordinates

43.7628, -70.6722

Aircraft

Simoneau KITFOX CLASSIC IV

Registration

N10224

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Limington → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC03LA210

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing. A factor in this accident was the pilot's lack of experience in make and model.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The homebuilt tail-wheeled airplane was landing on a 2,973-foot-long, 50-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The pilot reported that during the flare, the airplane's nose pitched up and he continued to a 3-point landing. The tail-wheel and main landing gear came down "rather hard," and the right main landing gear failed. The airplane departed the right side of the runway and struck trees. The accident flight was the airplane's first flight after being assembled. Examination of the airplane did not revealed any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions. The pilot reported about 140 hours of total flight experience, which included 1.7 hours in make and model.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.