# NTSB CHI99LA099: Calkins Kitfox 5, N394GL, Waunakee, WI, March 1, 1999 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: March 1, 1999, 17:10 local (23:10 UTC) - Place: Waunakee, WI - Coordinates: 43.180141, -89.449333 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.1801&lon=-89.4493&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 12, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 45846 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI99LA099 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/45846/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI99LA099 ## Probable cause the fracture of the trim actuator. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Airframe/component/system failure/malfunction, approach - flt control syst,elevator trim/tab control - fractured (cause) - Loss of control - in flight, approach - Hard landing, descent - uncontrolled ## Analysis As the airplane was turning base to final the pilot, 'felt a bump and vibration in the control stick...' when he commanded a final nose-up trim adjustment. The pilot reported that the remainder of the approach to the runway was uneventful. The pilot stated that, 'When I went to flare for the landing I did not have any pitch control.' The pilot reported that the airplane landed very hard and bounced back into the air in a nose high orientation. The pilot reported that during the hard landing the seat broke from its mounts and fell onto the flaperon control tube, inhibiting flaperon actuation. The pilot stated that the airplane then 'Stalled', landed tail first on the runway, ground looped, and came to rest with the right wingtip and the tail touching the ground. Post accident examination of the aircraft showed that the trim actuator was fractured at its attachment point to the airframe. ## Factual narrative On March 1, 1999, at 1710 central standard time (CST), a Calkins Kitfox 5, N394GL, piloted by a commercial pilot, was destroyed during a hard landing and subsequent ground loop at the Waunakee Airport, near Waunakee, Wisconsin. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot-in-command and pilot-rated passenger reported no injuries. The flight departed Waunakee Airport at 1630 CST for a local flight. According to the pilot-in-command's written statement, as the airplane was turning base to final the pilot, "felt a bump and vibration in the control stick..." when he commanded a final nose-up trim adjustment. The pilot reported that the remainder of the approach to the runway was uneventful. The pilot stated that, "When I went to flare for the landing I did not have any pitch control." The pilot reported that the airplane landed very hard and bounced back into the air in a nose high orientation. The pilot reported that during the hard landing the seat broke from its mounts and fell onto the flaperon control tube, inhibiting flaperon actuation. The pilot stated that the airplane then "Stalled", landed tail first on the runway, ground looped, and came to rest with the right wingtip and the tail touching the ground. Post accident inspection of the aircraft showed that the trim actuator was fractured at its attachment point to the airframe. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N394GL](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N394GL), registered now, S/N S9404-0021, built 1997 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Calkins KITFOX 5 - Registry model: [Calkins Gene M KITFOX SERIES 5](https://openairdocs.org/model/calkins-gene-m-kitfox-series-5) (registry code 05630CR) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG](https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (registry code 99999) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 59404-0021 - Airframe hours: 104 - Engines: Subaru EA81 SHO 118 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Gene M. Calkins - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, June 30, 1998, 34 hours before - Departed: WI06 - Airport: WI06, Waunakee Airport, runway 27, 2,230 × 30 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 53; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: right; flight hours: 1,394 total, 105 in this make and model, 1,226 as pilot in command, 8 in the last 90 days, 3 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 220° at 4 knots - Lowest ceiling: 8,000 ft broken - Temperature: 41 °F, dew point 23 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: MSN, 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19990301001889A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990301001889A), Mar 1, 1999: Amtrdf KITFOX, Waunakee, WI, Destroyed. Acft was slow on final and landed hard, the seat broke loose and came down on the aileron controls, and the acft ground looped on the rwy. (-23)pilot reported… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.