- Date
- February 14, 2024, 10:20 local (17:20 UTC)
- Place
- Mesa, AZ · airport environment
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N25ENMark G Ellingson Kitfox IV
- Defining event
- Landing-aborted after touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20240214001489A
- Case key
- 193860
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 failure to maintain directional control during landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that, while landing the tailwheel-equipped airplane during the first test flight, the airplane bounced several times and he advanced the throttle. The airplane subsequently veered left off the runway and both wings sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a follow-up examination of the wreckage by an FAA inspector, no anomalies were found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N25EN
- Reported as
- Mark G Ellingson Kitfox IV
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1681
- Built
- 2024
- Airframe hours
- 0.5
- Engine
- Rotax 912ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · January 30, 2024 · 3.3 hours before
- Airport
- FFZ · Falcon Field, runway 4R, 5,100 × 100 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 13,070 total · 33 in this make and model
- Role
- Other flight crew
- Age
- 63
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- February 26, 2024
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 75 total · 62 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Icing
- Unknown
- Turbulence
- Unknown
- Observed at
- FFZ
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 6, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 216 MB 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.