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CEN21LA016

2020-10-13 · New Carlisle, Ohio, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 3OH0

Current FAA registration · N47KC

Make / Model
SKYSTAR ACFT CO KITFOX IV
Year of manufacture
2005 · 15 years old at event
Engine
AMA/EXPR UNKNOWN ENG
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20060112
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A5BFA5

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain pitch control of the airplane during landing, which caused the airplane to nose over during landing roll. Contributing to the accident was the main landing gear modification which increased the airplane’s tendency to nose over during ground operations.

Factual narrative

The pilot and his pilot-rated-passenger were conducting a local flight in the tailwheel-equipped experimental airplane. The accident occurred during the first landing after the original main landing gear, equipped with bungie-cord shock absorber, had been replaced with a main landing gear equipped with a steel-spring shock absorber. The pilot reported that after a normal touchdown on the main landing gear he pushed the control stick slightly forward to keep the airplane from ballooning, but the airplane nosed over during the landing roll. A witness reported seeing the airplane’s tail continue to rise during the landing roll until the airplane nosed over on the runway. A postaccident fire destroyed the airplane’s cabin and the inboard halves of both wings. A postaccident review of the airplane’s weight-and-balance record indicated that the owner/builder had correctly recalculated the center-of-gravity (CG) position after the main landing gear replacement, and although the CG location had not moved appreciably, the wheel axle position had moved aft about 2.75 inches, thus increasing the airplane’s tendency to nose over during ground operations. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Main landing gear-Design

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_CEN21LA016.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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