NTSB CEN11CA143 — 2011-01-02 · Carlisle, Arkansas, United States

Current FAA registration · N876KF

Make / Model: KITFOX KITFOX III
Year of manufacture: 1992 · 19 years old at event
Engine: BOMBARDIER ROTAX (ALL)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19920507
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S AC0D87

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N876KF RARDIN WILLIAM I KITFOX III None

Probable cause & findings

Failure of the left main landing gear strut due to a pre-existing crack in the weld joint.

Factual narrative

The private pilot was landing his single-engine experimental airplane in calm wind conditions, when the left main gear collapsed upon touchdown. The airplane veered to the right and the pilot attempted to keep the airplane on the runway by applying engine power and right aileron; however, the airplane went off the runway and spun, which resulted in structural damage to the fuselage. Examination of the left main landing gear strut revealed that the strut failed due to a pre-existing crack in the weld joint. The crack would not have been readily visible to the pilot during a pre-flight inspection due to the construction of the strut. The bracing around the strut exhibited signs of distress with twisted and shiny fracture surfaces. No other anomalies were found with the airplane. The pilot was landing his single-engine experimental airplane in calm wind conditions, when the left main gear collapsed upon touchdown. The airplane veered to the right and the pilot attempted to keep the airplane on the runway by applying engine power and right aileron; however, the airplane exited the runway and spun, which resulted in structural damage to the fuselage. A postaccident examination of the left main landing gear strut revealed that the strut failed due to a pre-existing crack in the weld joint. The crack would not have been readily visible to the pilot during a pre-flight inspection due to the construction of the strut. The bracing around the strut exhibited signs of distress with twisted and shiny fracture surfaces. No other anomalies were found with the airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Main gear strut/axle/truck-Failure - C
C Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_CEN11CA143.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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