Kite KITFOX IV 1200 accident near Granby, NY
On August 19, 1998, a Kite KITFOX IV 1200 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Granby, NY. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 19, 1998
- Place
- Granby, NY
- Aircraft
- Kite KITFOX IV 1200 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 43.310°N, 76.411°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X10942
NTSB summary
On August 19, 1998, about 1125 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Kitfox IV 1200, N4038T, was destroyed when it struck trees while returning to land at a private airport in Granby, New York. The certificated commercial pilot, acting as pilot-in-command was fatally injured, while the certificated private pilot/owner received serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the post maintenance evaluation flight. No flight plan had been filed for the flight that was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the airplane had been modified with the addition of an elevator trim tab and cockpit adjusting system by the commercial pilot who also held mechanic's certificates for airframe and powerplant. The purpose of the flight was to test the installed system. Witnesses observed the airplane depart to north. One witness reported: "...The plane made a right turn after gaining altitude, made another right turn and headed south. The plane started losing power and altitude while southbound and it appeared that...[the pilot] was trying to get back to the runway. I saw the plane bank slightly to the right (west) and then pitched nose first into the trees just east of the runway...." Another witness reported: "...I saw them takeoff north, half way down the runway while the plane was in flight, I heard the engine drastically reduce power. After that occurred the plane turned east, then south [and] continued south it appeared they were going to turn to the west in an attempt to return to the runway. While in th
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
