- Date
- June 4, 1997, 20:00 local (Jun 5, 1997, 04:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fairbanks, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N85TAAnderson Kitfox IV-1200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 29, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19970605013439A
- Case key
- 3015
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
a seized crankshaft connecting rod bearing. A factor relating to the acciden was: the lack of suitable terrain for an emergency landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
About 15 minutes after takeoff, the engine suddenly lost power, and the pilot performed an emergency landing in a marshy area. During the landing roll, the airplane nosed over. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed a seized crankshaft connecting rod bearing.
Factual narrative
On June 4, 1997, about 2000 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped experimental homebuilt, Anderson Kitfox IV, N85TA, crashed during a forced landing, about 6 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area personal flight when the accident occurred. The airplane, registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The certificated private pilot, and the sole passenger, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight departed North Pole, Alaska, about 1945.
The pilot reported he was in cruise flight about 1,500 feet mean sea level. About 15 minutes after departure, the engine RPM began to decrease, and the engine quit. The pilot performed an emergency landing in a marshy area. During the landing, the airplane nosed over. The airplane received damage to the fuselage, landing gear, and propeller.
Following the accident, the pilot removed the engine for examination. It was examined at Arctic Sparrow Aircraft Inc., Birchwood, Alaska. The pilot indicated the examination revealed that a crankshaft connecting rod bearing had seized.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N85TA
- Reported as
- Anderson Kitfox IV-1200 (KITFOX IV-)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- HCU085
- Airframe hours
- 110
- Engine
- Rotax 582, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Timothy C. Anderson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 10, 1997 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- 95Z · North Pole, AK
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 340 total · 110 in this make and model · 268 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 80 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 32,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 81 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FAI, 6 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.