- Date
- April 15, 2010, 17:45 local (22:45 UTC)
- Place
- Baraboo, WI
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N421KFReed William A Kitfox 4
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern base: Aerodynamic stall/spin
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 28, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA- Milwaukee FSDO
- FAA report
- 20100415031979A
- Case key
- 75796
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
The pilot's failure to compensate for wind gusts and maintain sufficient airspeed, which resulted in a stall.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was diverting from the planned destination due to inclement weather along his route of flight. The pilot reported that during the approach to land, the airplane encountered wind gusts which resulted in the airplane stalling. The reported wind at the airport around the time of the accident indicated wind gusts from 13 to 23 knots.
Factual narrative
On April 15, 2010, about 1745 central daylight time, an amateur-built Kitfox 4 airplane, N421KF, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage while approaching to land at the Baraboo Wisconsin Dells Airport (DLL), Baraboo, Wisconsin. The airplane was being operated under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 and was in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The pilot received serious injuries. The flight originated from the Poplar Grove Airport, Poplar Grove, Illinois, at an undetermined time and was en route to Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The pilot reported that adverse weather had moved into the area and he diverted to DLL. The pilot said that during the landing approach, the aircraft stalled due to a wind gust, lost altitude, and struck the ground. The winds at DLL about the time of the accident were 250 degrees at 13 knots gusting to 23 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N421KF
- Reported as
- Reed William A Kitfox 4
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1421
- Airframe hours
- 733
- Engine
- Bombardier ROTAX (ALL), reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · June 12, 2009
- Departed
- C77 · Poplar Grove, IL
- Destination
- Stevens Point, WI
- Airport
- DLL · Baraboo/Wisconsin Dells Airpor, runway 32, 2,708 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 70
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- August 13, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 815 total · 733 in this make and model · 773 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 13 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.96 inHg
- Observed at
- DLL
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 1, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.