Metro Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fairbanks, Alaska 99701
Friday, September 10, 2010 17:00 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The private pilot was on a personal local flight, operating under Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The pilot reported that during landing, the airplane landed hard, and bounced back into the air. He said he added power to go around, but the airplane drifted left of the runway, and the right wing struck a signpost. He said the airplane spun around the post, and impacted the ground. The pilot said there were no preimpact mechanical problems with the airplane, and that the airplane sustained substantial damage to its right wing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain proper aircraft control during landing and the subsequent go-around, resulting in a hard landing, and a collision with a signpost.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/10/2010
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone --
Event City Fairbanks
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99701
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 642713N
Event Location Longitude 1473349W
Event Location Airport Metro Field
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MTF
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 432
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1653 Atlantic Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID FAI
Elevation of weather observation facility 439
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation ADT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 8000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.95
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 27738
NTSB Notification Source FAA Anchorage, ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2010 6:19PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N598AL
NTSB Number ANC10CA086
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name ROBERTS ALAN W
Aircraft Model KITFOX II
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 598
Certified Max Gross Weight 950
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection May 8 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 340
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name Lyle Whitmer
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Fairbanks
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99701
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Charles Whitmer
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Fairbanks
Operator State AK
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 99701
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code MTF
Departure City Fairbanks
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone ADT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code MTF
Destination City Fairbanks
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2010 6:18PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 06
Runway Length 4600
Runway Width 30
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --