Tifft KITFOX III accident near Lake Stevens, WA
On September 27, 2014, a Tifft KITFOX III (airplane) was involved in an accident near Lake Stevens, WA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 27, 2014
- Place
- Lake Stevens, WA
- Aircraft
- Tifft KITFOX III · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 48.114°N, 122.063°W
- NTSB ID
- 20140928X15808
Official records · WPR14FA393
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 27, 2014, about 1535 Pacific daylight time, an amateur-built experimental Tifft Kitfox III, N307KF, collided with the terrain following a loss of control during takeoff initial climb at the Frontier Airpark (WN53), Lake Stevens, Washington. The left seat pilot, who was receiving instruction, sustained fatal injuries, and the right seat certified flight instructor (CFI) sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot receiving instruction as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the proposed local flight, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident. In a written report submitted to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC), the CFI reported that the pilot/owner receiving instruction had recently purchased the airplane, and lacking any conventional gear (tailwheel) experience, asked the CFI to check him out in the airplane. The CFI further reported that prior to the accident flight, he personally flew the airplane solo from the left seat to get a feel for the airplane, during which time he observed that the airplane had an inherent characteristic of pitching up and lifting off inadvertently, which required the pilot to hold full forward stick prior to the planned lift-off. The CFI stated that the airplane was not equipped with a full set of dual controls; the left seat pilot had access to a control stick and rudder pedals, while the right seat pilot position was equipped
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during initial climb, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the inability of the flight instructor to take control of the airplane due to the lack of fully operational dual controls in the right-seat pilot position.
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Browse: Washington
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
