# NTSB ERA23LA116: Mesafox Kitfox, N915KF, Orlando, FL, January 19, 2023 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: January 19, 2023, 11:15 local (16:15 UTC) - Place: Orlando, FL - Coordinates: 28.425244, -81.329904 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.4252&lon=-81.3299&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Taxi: Prop/jet/rotor blast/suction](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/082) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 106617 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA23LA116 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/106617/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=106617 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA23LA116 ## Probable cause An inadvertent encounter with the jet blast of another airplane while taxiing, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane’s left wing. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Object/animal/substance: aircraft](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022040): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Awareness of condition (probable cause); cases with it: [Mesafox KITFOX, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022040/cases.md?model=05640H5), [All aircraft, 116 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Taxi: Prop/jet/rotor blast/suction](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/082) (defining event); cases with it: [Mesafox KITFOX, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/082/sequence.md?model=05640H5), [All aircraft, 44 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/082/sequence.md) - [Taxi: Dragged wing/rotor/float/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/093); cases with it: [Mesafox KITFOX, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/093/sequence.md?model=05640H5), [All aircraft, 319 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/093/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot was taxiing for departure at a large international airport. As he taxied from the ramp toward the taxiway that he had been cleared to take to the departure runway, the right wing of his airplane lifted. The airplane’s left wing then contacted the ground, and the airplane began to slide across the ground. In a statement following the accident, the pilot described that he had inadvertently taxied into the jet blast of an airplane that was about 500 feet away, which he was unable to see because his view was obscured by another large airplane parked on the ramp. The pilot subsequently shut his airplane’s engine down, exited the airplane, and tried to hold its wing down and keep it from contacting the ground again. He described that the jet blast made it difficult to keep the airplane from tipping over again and that he was lifted in the air several times as he tried to hold the right wing down. After serval minutes, several individuals assisted the pilot with moving the airplane out of the jet blast. The airplane’s left wing spar was substantially damaged during the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N915KF](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N915KF), registered now, S/N KA21118495, built 2022 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MESAFOX LLC KITFOX (7 STi) - Registry model: [Mesafox KITFOX](https://openairdocs.org/model/mesafox-kitfox) (registry code 05640H5) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rotax 915 IS series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-915-is-series) (registry code 55620, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: KA21118495 - Year built: 2022 - Airframe hours: 360 - Engines: Rotax 915iS 144 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Mesafox LLC - Registered owner: Mesafox LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, March 11, 2022 - Destination: X04, Apopka, FL - Airport: MCO, Orlando Intl, runway 18R, 12,004 × 200 ft, concrete ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 57; injuries: none; flight instructor, airline transport, commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, multi-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane, helicopter; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review June 17, 2022; seat: left; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 2,907 total, 366 in this make and model, 2,776 as pilot in command, 77 in the last 90 days, 43 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 13 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 25,000 ft broken - Temperature: 73 °F, dew point 63 °F - Altimeter: 30.14 inHg - Observed at: MCO, 1 nm away - METAR: KMCO 191553Z 18013KT 10SM FEW025 SCT055 BKN250 23/17 A3014 RMK AO2 SLP203 T02330167 ## 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 20230119001289A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230119001289A), Jan 19, 2023: Mesafox LLC KITFOX, Orlando, FL, Substantial damage. At 16:22Z aircraft [privacy data omitted], a Kitfox amphibian amateur homebuilt, parked at signature flight support called Orlando international (mco) ground… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 15, 2023, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=106617. 2.9 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 2.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15111286&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%206120.1%20N915KF-print_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigative photographs (item 2, PDF, 4 pages, 715 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15111782&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%20Array%20Template-Rel.pdf 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.