- Date
- July 4, 2002, 09:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Fairmont, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N76WHHale Kitfox Model III
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 18, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA -- Minneapolis FSDO
- FAA report
- 20020704018219I
- Case key
- 54950
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
Failure by the pilot to obtain adequate clearance from the tree line, as well as a failure to abort the takeoff in a timely manner. A contributing factor was the tree line.
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
The pilot attempted to depart an alfalfa field adjacent to his home. After becoming airborne, he crossed a road and a railroad track adjacent to the field, and impacted a tree line running along the tracks. The pilot held a student pilot certificate without a solo endorsment.
Factual narrative
On July 4, 2002, at 0930 central daylight time, an amateur-built Hale Kitfox Model III, N76WH, piloted by a student pilot, was substantially damaged when it failed to clear a tree line adjacent to the departure field after takeoff. The airplane was departing from an alfalfa field eight miles north of Fairmont, Minnesota. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 and was originating at the time of the accident. The pilot reported no injuries.
The pilot reported to a police officer on-scene that he had decided to taxi the airplane on the field adjacent to his home. The pilot noted that as he neared the road and trees, he had to pull up in an attempt to clear them. He flew over the road and railroad tracks, but failed to clear the trees. The officer's notes stated that although the pilot said he was not actually flying, a child nearby told the officer that the airplane was airborne for quite awhile.
FAA records indicate the pilot was issued a student pilot/third class medical certificate on June 12, 2002. The FAA inspector on-scene noted that the pilot did not have a solo endorsement on his student pilot certificate.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N76WH
- Reported as
- Hale Kitfox Model III
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 756
- Engine
- Rotax, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- ---
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
- 52
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 120 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 9 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- FRM, 8 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on February 14, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 95 KB 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.