- Date
- October 13, 2020, 13:40 local (17:40 UTC)
- Place
- New Carlisle, OH · Airport, Runway 28
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N47KCKitfox Classic 4
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Cincinnati FSDO
- FAA report
- 20201013019529A
- Case key
- 102140
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 maintain pitch control of the airplane during landing, which caused the airplane to nose over during landing roll. Contributing to the accident was the main landing gear modification which increased the airplane’s tendency to nose over during ground operations.
Findings · 3
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 and his pilot-rated-passenger were conducting a local flight in the tailwheel-equipped experimental airplane. The accident occurred during the first landing after the original main landing gear, equipped with bungie-cord shock absorber, had been replaced with a main landing gear equipped with a steel-spring shock absorber. The pilot reported that after a normal touchdown on the main landing gear he pushed the control stick slightly forward to keep the airplane from ballooning, but the airplane nosed over during the landing roll. A witness reported seeing the airplane’s tail continue to rise during the landing roll until the airplane nosed over on the runway. A postaccident fire destroyed the airplane’s cabin and the inboard halves of both wings. A postaccident review of the airplane’s weight-and-balance record indicated that the owner/builder had correctly recalculated the center-of-gravity (CG) position after the main landing gear replacement, and although the CG location had not moved appreciably, the wheel axle position had moved aft about 2.75 inches, thus increasing the airplane’s tendency to nose over during ground operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N47KC
- Reported as
- Kitfox Classic 4 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- C04060296
- Built
- 2006
- Airframe hours
- 45
- Engine
- Rotec R2800, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · October 16, 2019 · 4 hours before
- Airport
- 3OH0 · Andy Barnhart Memorial Airport, runway 28, 2,000 × 150 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- Unknown
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 73
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,066 total · 45 in this make and model · 824 as pilot in command
- Role
- Pilot-rated passenger
- Age
- 72
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed
- Last flight review
- July 13, 2018
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 365 total · 325 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.13 inHg
- Observed at
- FFO, 6.5 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 27, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.5 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.