- Date
- September 14, 2003, 10:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Limington, ME
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N10224Simoneau Kitfox Classic IV
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20030914029129A
- Case key
- 58218
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 improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing. A factor in this accident was the pilot's lack of experience in make and model.
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 homebuilt tail-wheeled airplane was landing on a 2,973-foot-long, 50-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The pilot reported that during the flare, the airplane's nose pitched up and he continued to a 3-point landing. The tail-wheel and main landing gear came down "rather hard," and the right main landing gear failed. The airplane departed the right side of the runway and struck trees. The accident flight was the airplane's first flight after being assembled. Examination of the airplane did not revealed any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions. The pilot reported about 140 hours of total flight experience, which included 1.7 hours in make and model.
Factual narrative
On September 14, 2003, about 1030 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Kitfox Classic IV, N10224, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at the Limington-Harmon Airport, Limington, Maine. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the local flight. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The airplane was on approach to Runway 11, a 2,973-foot-long, 50-foot-wide, asphalt runway.
In a written statement, the pilot said that the approach was normal. During the flare, the airplane's nose pitched up and he continued to a 3-point landing. The tail-wheel and main landing gear came down "rather hard," and the right main landing gear failed. The airplane departed the right side of the runway and struck trees.
The accident flight was the airplane's first flight after being assembled. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not revealed any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions.
The pilot reported about 140 hours of total flight experience, which included 1.7 hours in make and model.
Winds reported at an airport located about 20 miles east-southeast of the accident site, at 1051, were variable at 3 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N10224
- Reported as
- Simoneau Kitfox Classic IV
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- C0010-0263
- Airframe hours
- 4
- Engine
- Rotax 912ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Roy T. SimoneaU
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · August 26, 2003 · 4 hours before
- Departed
- 63B · Limington, ME
- Destination
- 63B
- Airport
- 63B · Limington-Harmon, runway 11, 2,973 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- October 2, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 137 total · 2 in this make and model · 137 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.34 inHg
- Observed at
- PWM, 20 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.