Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Private Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Scarborough, Maine 04074
Friday, June 10, 2011 18:35 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was conducting the airplane's first flight since it was purchased by the non-pilot passenger/owner about 4 months earlier. A preflight inspection revealed no anomalies, and the pilot taxied the airplane up and down the runway to familiarize himself with the flight controls. An engine run-up prior to takeoff further indicated no abnormalities. The pilot initiated the takeoff roll and the airplane became airborne about 500 to 800 feet down the turf runway. The airplane reached an altitude of about 100 feet before it turned right, descended, and then impacted the ground. The pilot reported that the airplane felt "sluggish" after takeoff and may have encountered a gust of wind but that he could not recall the specific accident sequence. An airport located 7 nautical miles from the accident site reported 12-knot wind, with gusts of up to 20 knots, which would have resulted in a slight tailwind condition during takeoff from the westerly-oriented runway. The owner stated that the airplane had not been flown in over a year prior to his purchasing it. Postaccident examination revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the engine.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane while taking off with a gusting wind.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/10/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1835 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Scarborough |
| Event State | MAINE |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 04074 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 433227N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0702238W |
| Event Location Airport | Private |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | NA |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 60 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1851 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 30 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PWM |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 76 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 7 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| 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) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 12 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 20 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.01 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 30059 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA New England ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 3 2012 5:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N915PK |
| NTSB Number | ERA11LA336 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Marks CA III |
| Aircraft Model | Kitfox II |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 709 |
| 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 | Feb 18 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 90 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Austin E Luce |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Smithfield |
| Aircraft Owner State | ME |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 04978 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Perry Fielding |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Scarborough |
| Operator State | ME |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 04074 |
| 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 | NA |
| Departure City | Scarborough |
| Departure State | ME |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1835 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | NA |
| Destination City | Scarborough |
| Destination State | ME |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 3 2012 5:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | 3300 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |