Basinski KOLB MK3 accident near Winter Haven, FL
On April 8, 1997, a Basinski KOLB MK3 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Winter Haven, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- April 8, 1997
- Place
- Winter Haven, FL
- Aircraft
- Basinski KOLB MK3 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 28.040°N, 81.720°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X07776
NTSB summary
On April 8, 1997, about 1200 eastern daylight time, an unregistered Basinski, Kolb MK3, experimental airplane, N128BB, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed while maneuvering in the vicinity of Winter Haven's Gilbert Field, Winter Haven, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The flight originated from Lake Jessie abeam Browns Seaplane Base, Winter Haven, Florida, about 1 minute before the accident. Witnesses located at Browns Seaplane Base, and boaters located on Lake Jessie, at Winter Haven, observed the airplane making touch-and-go landings to the lake. The airplane took off to the north and turned to the west. Blue and white colored smoke was observed coming from the vicinity of the engine. The airplane appeared to lose forward airspeed while in a climb at about 100 to 200 feet. The left wing dropped down between 45 to 90 degrees, the airplane entered a spin to the left, colliding with a house trailer and the ground. The wreckage of N128BB was located in the front yard of a private residence located at 46 Bream Street, Winter Haven, Florida. Examination of the crash site revealed the airplane collided with a private residence in a nose down attitude. The right outboard wing tip collided with the front porch, and the airplane rotated around its vertical axis to the right coming to rest on a heading of 250 degrees magnetic. The right wing was compressed aft and the wing tip was bent up. An oil film covered the leading edge of the tail section.
Probable cause
failure of the pilot to maintain airspeed after an oil leak occurred, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin and subsequent collision with a residence and the terrain. The oil leak and the pilot's diverted attention were related factors.
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Browse: Florida
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
