The pilot reported that, while landing the tailwheel-equipped Kitfox IV at the airport in Mesa, Arizona, during the first test flight, the airplane bounced several times.
He advanced the throttle. The airplane subsequently veered left off the runway and both wings sustained substantial damage.
The pilot reported that there were no pre-accident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a follow-up examination of the wreckage by an FAA inspector, no anomalies were found.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This February 2024 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
How many “chair hours did he do” before trying to solo in a proper airplane ? No matter how many pieces of paper you have telling you , you’re qualified , its only paper knowledge. These days the vast majority of pilots learn in “wheel barrows” that are more forgiving for pilots , but pilots still manage to miss-handle landings. Smug self confidence is often an underlaying cause exacerbating the situation.
Otto Pilotto said it: experience.
It has a propeller and wings, don’t it? I can fly it!
I, for one, would never attempt to fly a taildragger without proper instruction, and certainly never solo until the instructor said he/she was satisfied with my performance. Excellence is standard, standard is substandard. Why?
Because I recognise my limitation, and I am not a dancer. Never liked it. Consequently, I was not dancing on the rudder pedals like a good pilot should. I didn’t always feel that skidding around the turn, but had I had backseat passengers, they would have. While cool in off-road videos, in a plane it is just damn rude.
My flight instructor decided to drive that point home. We spent about three or four hours of dual flights with lots of rudder work – I wasn’t allowed to use the ailerons at all. After he was satisfied that it finally clicked, we debriefed and he announced a solo flight to Cherry Ridge Airport in Honesdale, PA. After fastidious flight planning so that I knew exactly where to go and how to handle the landing, I took off two days later.
Cherry Ridge (N30) is like a razor blade on a hill, with no hill. 2986 x 50, trees either end and a lake beside, over 500′ displaced threshold either landing direction. I can definitely say, on that final I was dancing those pedals like Fred Astaire, coming in about 5 knots hot with no flaps because the burbles were so bad. I landed with maybe 110 feet to spare. Another pilot came over and offered to help push back to the tie down area. He commented that I must land at N30 a lot, and I asked why he said that. he said, “I watched you the whole way in and the approach looked great, like you do it all the time.”
My feet didn’t touch the ground the rest of the day. Even at that, no way would I ever try to
ground loopland a taildragger without proper instruction and proficiency.A good tail dragger pilot will NOT dance on the rudder pedals. One part of flying is actually learning to feel the airplane and what it is telling you.
Another loss of control with a go-around started near or on the runway – statistically a big problem. How many times have we seen that have fatal results. Beware of the general recommendation to execute go-arounds early – it may mean that your training will not include go-arounds from near or on the runway, which may be the very first place where a problem suddenly appears.
I wonder if he got any dual experience in another Kitfox first.
Well stated!
More proof that sometimes, “experience” alone doesn’t matter.
Forty-three-year-old PIC:
Certificates/Ratings: ATP-MEL, Comm SEL, CFI, CFII, MEI, A&P, IA
Flight Time: 13,070 hours (Total, all aircraft)
Tailwheel Time: 947 hrs.
This make and model (Kitfox): 33 hrs.
Granted, his Kitfox hours are in a 65 HP Rotax model, not 100 HP.
You really need to watch the takeoff and landing videos included in the NTSB docket.
Looks like all he needed to do was ensure it was in idle and hold the stick in his lap…
Unfortunately, the attached NTSB Form 6120.1’s “Narrative History of the Flight”, written by the owner/pax, NOT the PIC, cuts off right were the real clue to what happened during the landing is being addressed…
You’re right, the videos tell a lot. I think he wanted to do a touch and go, but wasn’t fully stable before he jammed the throttle full. Why he didn’t recognise that he was squirrelly is beyond me. On takeoff, the pilot seemed in a hurry to turn left, but maybe that’s procedure at that airport. Kind of doubt it, or maybe my viewing angle distorts it too much.
Poor control on takeoff, and banging that tail on the ground first was expensive. I see poor rudder control throughout. Maybe having an audience was too much for him.
I also wonder if he was still debating whether to do a 3-point, or try a wheel landing…right up until he ‘hit’.