- Date
- March 10, 2002, 11:10 local (18:10 UTC)
- Place
- Windsor, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8SDDoyle Kitfox III
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 20, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA - Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20020310003799A
- Case key
- 54345
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
loss of engine power due to restricted fuel flow for reasons undetermined. A contributing factor was the unsuitable terrain on which to make a forced 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
The pilot said that while cruising 800 feet above the ground, "the engine stopped and the propeller also came to a complete stop." Unsuccessful in attempting to restart the engine, the pilot made a forced landing in a hay field. The tall grass caused the airplane to nose over, crushing the vertical stabilizer. The pilot surmised "a fuel flow problem" had caused the engine to lose power.
Factual narrative
On March 10, 2002, approximately 1110 mountain standard time, a Doyle Kitfox III amateur-built airplane, N8SD, was substantially damaged when it nosed over during a forced landing near Windsor, Colorado. The private pilot and a passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Part 91. The flight originated at Greeley, Colorado, at 1045, and was en route to Loveland, Colorado.
According to the pilot's accident report, he was cruising at 800 feet above the ground when the engine lost power. He made a forced landing in a hay field. The tall grass caused the airplane to nose over, crushing the vertical stabilizer.
According to a statement made to the Weld County Sheriff's Office, the pilot indicated that "the engine stopped and the propeller also came to a complete stop." He also stated he was unsuccessful in attempting to restart the engine in flight.
Contacted after the accident, the pilot surmised "a fuel flow problem" had resulted in the loss of engine power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8SD
- Reported as
- Doyle Kitfox III
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1001
- Airframe hours
- 380
- Engine
- Rotax 582 LC, 66 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- W. Scott Doyle
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · January 15, 2002 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- GXY · Greeley, CO
- Destination
- FNL · Fort Collins, CO
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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- January 21, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 450 total · 350 in this make and model · 450 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- GXY, 15 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 29, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 492 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.