Nolen KITFOX LITE SQUARED N222JN

Summary

On 12 August 2003 at about 20:30 local time, a Nolen KITFOX LITE SQUARED registered N222JN was involved in an accident near Homedale, Idaho, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 August 2003 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Homedale, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Homedale Municipal (S66)

Coordinates

43.6108, -116.9189

Aircraft

Nolen KITFOX LITE SQUARED

Registration

N222JN

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Homedale → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA03LA168

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate compensation for winds and his failure to maintain an airspeed above stalling speed (Vs) just as the aircraft was becoming airborne during the takeoff roll. Factors include a gusty quartering tailwind, and the pilot's preflight decision to take off in the downwind direction, and the pilot's total lack of experience in this make and model aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The subject aircraft had received its temporary experimental airworthiness certificate on the morning of the accident, and this was to be its first flight. When the temporary certificate was issued, the FAA inspector who issued it told the pilot not to take off on runway 31 until the required 40 hours had been flown off, since to do so might take the aircraft over the town of Homedale, a congested area. At the time the pilot made the decision to take off on runway 13, there was a left quartering tailwind of about 10 knots, gusting to around 15 knots. Although the pilot was aware he was taking off with a tailwind, he did not want to wait until the wind died down, and since he could not take off to the north because of the FAA restriction, he elected to attempt the southerly departure (runway 13). Just after liftoff near the end of the runway, a gust of wind elevated the left wing "...to the point where the tip of the right wing scrapped the runway surface." During the pilot's attempt to recover control of the aircraft, it sank/mushed into the runway surface with sufficient force to result in substantial damage. There was no evidence of any anomalies in the aircraft flight control system or its engine. During the investigation, it was determined that the pilot had never before flown this make and model aircraft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.