Stall / Spin · NTSB DEN08LA098
HARMS ROBERT M KIT FOX SE — La Porte, TX
| Date | June 2, 2008 |
| Location | La Porte, TX |
| Aircraft | HARMS ROBERT M KIT FOX SE (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Approach-VFR pattern crosswind Aerodynamic stall/spin |
| Pilot age | 74 |
| Pilot total time | Unknown |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering, resulting in an aerodynamic stall and uncontrolled descent.
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
What happened
The pilot was flying the experimental homebuilt airplane with a potential buyer for the airplane who was a pilot-rated passenger. The pilot had flown the airplane 45 minutes the morning of the accident, but had not flown the airplane for the year preceding the accident. The pilot-rated passenger had no experience in the airplane. After 10 to 15 minutes of flight, witnesses observed the airplane making a climbing left turn about 1,000 feet in the air when the airplane suddenly nosed over near vertical, consistent with an aerodynamic stall. The airplane impacted an open field at a near 45-degree angle and burned in a postimpact fire. Examination of the aircraft did not reveal any preimpact anomalies.