Longtin KITFOX MODEL III N795JL

Summary

On 2 July 2005 at about 19:03 local time, a Longtin KITFOX MODEL III registered N795JL was involved in an accident near New London, New Hampshire, 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

2 July 2005 at 19:03

Classification

Accident

Location

New London, New Hampshire, United States

Nearest airport

Eagles Nest (NH40)

Coordinates

43.4044, -71.9503

Aircraft

Longtin KITFOX MODEL III

Registration

N795JL

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

New London → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD05LA089

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. A factor in the accident was the tail wind condition.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane took off from runway 14 and after clearing a tree line, it entered a right spin, and vertically impacted a golf course. A retired airline pilot stated that winds at the time were from the west, gusting to about 30 mph, and the windsock was "straight out." The airline pilot further stated that the pilots normally took off from runway 14 and landed on runway 32 because of the slope of the runway, but the policy wasn't "cut in stone." The airplane was purchased by the pilot about a month earlier; however, he and another pilot had previously owned the same make and model, which was substantially damaged when a hangar roof collapsed on it about 4 years earlier. The pilot had accrued an estimated 15-20 hours in the accident airplane, and had taken off under similar wind conditions "many times." The pilot had a heart condition, but there was no evidence that it contributed to the accident. An examination of the wreckage revealed no mechanical anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.