Thomas G Parkhurst KITFOX IV N37TP

Summary

On 18 October 2017 at about 21:15 local time, a Thomas G Parkhurst KITFOX IV registered N37TP was involved in an accident near Sidney, New York, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 October 2017 at 21:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Sidney, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Sidney Muni (N23)

Coordinates

42.3053, -75.4089

Aircraft

Thomas G Parkhurst KITFOX IV

Registration

N37TP

Category

Airplane

Year built

2014

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sidney → Sidney

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA015

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack following a loss of ground reference during landing in glaring sun conditions, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during final approach, the airplane was "out of alignment to the left edge of the runway." He decided to add throttle and realign with the runway, but as he reached for the throttle to add power, at that instant, he was "blinded" by sun glare, and he had "no memory of [the] events for approximately 6 seconds" after that point. He added that, just before impact, he saw the ground, but "there was nothing that could be done." The airplane impacted a parking lot in a nose-low, left-wing-down attitude. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and both wings. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge, the passenger reported that, during landing, the airplane was crabbing to the left but traveling forward. He reported that, before the runway threshold, there was a momentary sun flash that "lit up the plastic windscreen." He further reported that the pilot applied power, pulled back on the control stick, and the airplane "spiraled" and "twisted" left and downward into a parking lot. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot exceeded the airplane's critical angle of attack and then entered an aerodynamic stall/spin.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.