# Accident 20211123022839A: Smith Kenneth R ZODIAC 601XL, Temecula, CA, November 23, 2021

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 23, 2021, 10:35 local time
- Place: Temecula, CA
- Airport: French Valley
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.5490° N, 117.0921° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.5490&lon=-117.0921&mi=10
- Aircraft: N601KS, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N601KS-2023-06-28) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Smith Kenneth R ZODIAC 601XL (registry code 05903X8, https://openairdocs.org/model/smith-kenneth-r-zodiac-601xl) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SMITH KENNETH R ZODIAC 601XL
- Reported engine: AMA/EXPR UNKNOWN ENG
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, private pilot
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR22FA048](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR22FA048) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20211123022839A

## Narrative

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

ON NOVEMBER 23, 2021, ABOUT 1032, AN EXPERIMENTAL AMATEUR-BUILT ZENITH ZODIAC 601XL, N601KS, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT IN TEMECULA, CALIFORNIA. THE PILOT

WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS OPERATED AS A TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT.  A WITNESS, WHO WAS LOCATED ABOUT 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FRENCH VALLEY AIRPORT, REPORTED HEARING A LOUD BANG, AND THEN LOOKING OVERHEAD TO SEE AN AIRPLANE FLYING IN A NORTHWEST DIRECTION. THE AIRPLANE THEN BEGAN TO ROLL INVERTED WHILE DIVING DIAGONALLY INTO THE GROUND.  MULTIPLE OTHER WITNESSES RECOUNTED SIMILAR OBSERVATIONS OF HEARING A LOUD BOOMING SOUND FOLLOWED BY OBSERVING AN AIRPLANE DIVE TOWARD

THE GROUND WHILE DEBRIS FELL FROM IT.  THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST NOSE DOWN IN A FIELD, ABOUT 250 FT NORTH OF THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.  THE AIRFRAME WAS COMPRESSED AFT, SUCH THAT THE ENGINE AND FIREWALL WERE IN LINE WITH THE

TRAILING EDGE OF THE WINGS. BOTH WINGS SUSTAINED CRUSH DAMAGE THROUGH TO THE AFT SPAR, BOTH FUEL TANKS HAD BEEN BREACHED, AND THE SMELL OF FUEL WAS PRESENT IN THE SOIL SURROUNDING THE SITE. A 70-FT-LONG DEBRIS FIELD CONSISTING OF FRAGMENTS OF CANOPY PLEXIGLASS MATERIAL, SHARDS OF ALUMINUM, AND FRAGMENTS OF FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS, EMANATED FROM THE MAIN WRECKAGE WEST.

## 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 WPR22FA048](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR22FA048), Nov 23, 2021: Zenith Zodiac CH601XL (N601KS), Temecula, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The failure of the airplane’s canopy latch system, which resulted in the canopy opening in flight and a loss of airplane control. Contributing to the accident was the lack of a secondary canopy latch…

## Other reports on N601KS (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 20080201011819A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080201011819A), Feb 1, 2008: Amtr CH601XL (N601KS), Temecula, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) Aircraft took off on runway 18 at approx. 1100. A few minutes after take off the fall of lost fuel pressure was noted by the pilot. The engine quit…

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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