Farace Thomas Scott KITFOX II N438TT

Summary

On 21 March 2014 at about 21:00 local time, a Farace Thomas Scott KITFOX II registered N438TT was involved in an accident near Vicksburg, Mississippi, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 March 2014 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Vicksburg, Mississippi, United States

Nearest airport

Vicksburg Municipal Airport (VKS)

Coordinates

32.2506, -90.9233

Aircraft

Farace Thomas Scott KITFOX II

Registration

N438TT

Category

Airplane

Year built

2011

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Vicksburg → Vicksburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA164

2 people were seriously injured.

The airplane’s low-level encounter with a downdraft that maximum engine power could not overcome.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The owner of the recently-purchased, 65-horsepower airplane was undergoing tailwheel endorsement training. He and the flight instructor had previously flown the airplane about 9 hours, for about 2 hours each time, with no problems noted. They had begun the flight about an hour earlier; the wind was from the west, and they were landing and taking off on the single runway toward the north. After a touch-and-go landing, when the airplane was 300 to 400 above the ground in a full-power, climbing right turn, it stopped climbing. The pilots checked that the power was at maximum, and the flight instructor took control. He continued the turn to the south, but the airplane continued to lose altitude. The flight instructor thought about landing on a parallel road, but because there were cars present, he landed the airplane, still at full power, on the roof of an industrial supply building. The pilot/owner thought the descent could have resulted from windshear or a swirl, as the airplane had "good forward motion" during the entire descent. The flight instructor stated that at the time of the accident. the airplane was 50 pounds under its 950-pound maximum gross weight. Subsequent examination of the wreckage indicated evidence of high power at impact and did not reveal any preexisting mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The wind, recorded at the airport about 5 minutes before the accident, was from the southwest at 12 knots; about 15 minutes after the accident, the wind was from the southwest, but variable from the south and west at 8 knots; and about 35 minutes after the accident, the wind was from the southwest at 9 knots, gusting to 15 knots. A review of atmospheric conditions at the time revealed an unstable but dry atmosphere that may have resulted in downdrafts.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.