Stall / Spin · NTSB ERA09LA250
Gladstone Kitfox — Dubre, KY
| Date | April 18, 2009 |
| Location | Dubre, KY |
| Aircraft | Gladstone Kitfox (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Dawn · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Maneuvering-low-alt flying Aerodynamic stall/spin |
| Pilot age | 51 |
| Pilot total time | 507 hrs · Building experience |
| Time in type | 48 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
What happened
A witness stated that he heard an airplane approaching his house; the airplane was about 200 feet above the trees. It made a left turn next to a creek and reversed its course. The airplane reversed its course again, and was observed above the creek coming back towards his home. The witness observed the fuselage of the airplane swaying from left to right and as well as the airplane making a steep left turn. He observed that the left wing of the airplane was perpendicular to the ground and the ground speed of the airplane appeared to be slow. The airplane continued in the steep left turn, reversed its course again, and leveled out. The wings on the airplane were observed to wobble, and the nose of the airplane pitched down. The airplane collided with the ground in a nose-down attitude and came to rest upright. The witness reported no change in engine noise during the accident sequence. No evidence of any preimpact anomalies was noted with the airframe, flight controls, or engine assembly and accessories.