# Accident 20070830020499A: Amtr KITFOX, Placerville, CA, August 30, 2007

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 30, 2007, 06:30 local time
- Place: Placerville, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.6861° N, 120.8764° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.6861&lon=-120.8764&mi=10
- Aircraft: N96KL, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N96KL-2015-05-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Fitt Lowell C KITFOX (registry code 05604F4, https://openairdocs.org/model/fitt-lowell-c-kitfox) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR KITFOX
- Reported engine: ROTAX ROTAX912UL
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,000 total, 907 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA07LA245](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA07LA245) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20070830020499A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) N96KL DEPARTED CAMERON AIRPARK AIRPORT AT APPROXIMATELY 0615 HRS ON 8/30/07 FOR A FLIGHT TO PLACERVILLE AIRPORT. A FEW MINUTES AFTER DEPARTING CAMERON AIRPARK, THE PILOT NOTICED THAT AIRCRAFT HAD ENTERED A WARM AIR INVERSION LAYER AND NOTED THAT OIL PRESSURE GAUGE DROPPED TO 0 PSI. THE PILOT STATED THAT ALL OTHER ENGINE INDICATIONS AND ENGINE NOISE WAS NORMAL WITH THE ENGINE STILL MAKING POWER. THE PILOT ALSO STATED THAT HE CHANGED THE ENGINE OIL ONLY 5 DAYS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT DECIDED TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN AN OPEN FIELD. AT APPROXIMATELY 0630 HRS, THE AIRCRAFT LANDED ON SOFT DIRT AND THE RIGHT WING TIP DUG INTO THE GROUND SPINNING THE AIRCRAFT AROUND. BOTH THE PILOT AND PASSENGER RECEIVED MAJOR INJURIES BUT NOT LIFE THREATENING. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED UPON IMPACT. NOTE: THIS INVESTIGATION IS NOT COMPLETE, TO BE AMENDED AT A LATER DATE. (-23 AMENDMENT) ON DEC. 14, 2007, WITNESSED THE TEARDOWN OF THE ENGINE FROM THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT. UPON THE DISASSEMBLY OF THE OIL TANK, A FOREIGN OBJECT COMPOSED OF A PLASTIC MATERIAL, WAS DISCOVERED PLUGGED IN THE PICK-UP PORTION OF THE OIL SUPPLY FEED TUBE. AS STATED IN THE PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED FORM 8020-23 FOR THIS ACCIDENT, THE PILOT DID STATE HE PERFORMED AN ENGINE OIL CHANGE 5 DAYS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT WAS INTERVIEWED ON JAN. 8, 2008 AND ASKED ABOUT THE FOREIGN OBJECT FOUND IN THE OIL TANK. THE PILOT DID STATE THAT WHEN HE PERFORMED THE OIL CHANGE BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, HE DID DISASSEMBLE AND REASSEMBLE THE OIL TANK BUT HE DID NOT KNOW WHAT THE FOREIGN OBJECT WAS OR WHERE IT CAME FROM.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB SEA07LA245](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA07LA245), Aug 30, 2007: Fitt Kitfox (N96KL), Diamond Springs, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: Oil starvation during climb due to an unidentified piece of plastic material blocking an oil supply tube and the pilot's inadequate maintenance of the lubricating system. Contributing to the accident…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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