History of Flight
On June 2, 2008, at 1412 central daylight time, a Robert Harms Kitfox Series V experimental airplane, registration N40120, impacted terrain one-half mile northeast of the La Porte Municipal Airport (T41) in La Porte, Texas. The commercial pilot and a pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed. The personal flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. The local flight departed T41 at approximately 1355.
The pilot was flying with a potential buyer of the airplane, who was a pilot-rated passenger. The pilot was flying on behalf of the airplane's owner, who was not qualified to fly the airplane. After 10 to 15 minutes of flight, witnesses observed the airplane making a climbing left turn at approximately 1,000 feet when it suddenly nosed over near vertical. The airplane impacted an open field at a near 45-degree angle and burned in post-impact fire.
Air traffic control radar data showed the airplane making a left turn with airspeed slowing from approximately 80 knots to 61 knots during the last 90 seconds of data. Altitude information was unreliable.
The pilot was the primary pilot for N40120 and had flown it with the owner for 45 minutes the morning of the accident. Prior to that morning flight, the pilot had not flown N40120 for approximately one year.
Personnel Information
The 74-year-old pilot occupied the right seat and held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane multi-engine land, and instrument airplane. His last Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical was issued on May 17, 2006, with the limitation "MUST WEAR CORRECTIVE LENSES." His logbook was destroyed by post-impact fire. The pilot reported 3,736 total hours on his last medical examination. His last noted flight review was May 26, 2006.
The 55-year-old pilot-rated passenger occupied the left seat and held a private pilot's license with an airplane single-engine land rating. His pilot certificate was issued January 27, 1988. His last third-class medical examination was issued in May 1987 with the restriction "Valid for 9 months following the month examined." A review of his logbook indicated he had accumulated approximately 94 total flight hours between January 1988 and March 29, 2008. He had accumulated approximately 90 hours between June 22, 2005, and March 29, 2008, in a Cessna 172 airplane registered in his name. His logbook did not indicate any time flown in other airplanes after June 22, 2005. There was no record of when his last flight review had occurred.
Aircraft Information
The 2004 Harmes Kitfox Series V experimental airplane, serial number S9909-0215, was a high-wing airplane with fixed tail wheel landing gear, configured for two occupants. It was powered by a four-stroke, four-cylinder, liquid-cooled, gasoline engine—a Subaru 2.2L rated at 135 horsepower—driving a two-bladed fixed-pitch Ivoprop propeller. The airplane was configured with a one-degree forward wing sweep.
According to the airplane's owner and builder, the most recent annual inspection was completed on November 15, 2007. At the time of the accident, the airframe had accumulated approximately 165 total hours.
Kitfox Aircraft, LLC manufactures Kitfox Series V airplane kits. According to the weight and balance spreadsheet on their website, the Series V kits have a maximum gross weight of 1,550 pounds. Kitfox Aircraft, LLC personnel indicated the Kitfox V gross weight limit of 1,550 pounds had been established as the structural limit at +6g and -3g and was the flight-tested limit. N40120 was certified with a maximum gross weight of 1,711 pounds, an empty weight of 1,038 pounds, and an empty center of gravity (CG) of +8.4 inches.
According to weight and balance computations performed by FAA personnel, the airplane weighed 1,575 pounds and had a CG of 12.06 at the time of the accident. The kit manufacturer recommended CG range was 9.96 to 14.75 inches.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was located in a field adjacent to Avenue H, La Porte, Texas, approximately six-tenths of a mile northeast of the center of T41. The fuselage was found 16 feet west of the initial ground contact point aligned on a 180-degree heading. Linear ground scars consistent with propeller strikes were located near the initial impact point. Propeller blade one was attached to the propeller hub and mostly splintered; propeller blade two was attached at an approximate 45-degree angle, consistent with clockwise rotation, and mostly splintered.
The forward cockpit and engine were separated from the fuselage and located adjacent to it. The left wing structure was on top of the fuselage, aligned with it, with both forward and aft spars sheared. The right wing structure lay next to the fuselage on the right side, with the forward spar bent aft 45 degrees and the aft spar sheared at the fuselage. The vertical stabilizer and rudder were bent 90 degrees to the right. All exterior portions and parts of the fuselage, cockpit, wings, and empennage were consumed by post-impact fire. There was no evidence of in-flight fire.
The left and right aileron control tubes, stabilizer control tube, and left and right flaperon control tubes were sheared and melted. FAA investigators found no anomalies with flight controls or structures that would contribute to the accident.
Medical and Pathological Information
Pilot
An autopsy on the pilot was performed by the Office of the Medical Examiner of Harris County, Houston, Texas, on June 3, 2008. The cause of death was blunt force trauma. The FAA Toxicology Accident Research Laboratory conducted toxicological testing; results for carbon monoxide, cyanide, and ethanol were negative. The pilot tested positive for 7.438 µg/ml acetaminophen in blood, 0.233 µg/ml tramadol in blood, and tramadol in urine.
The pilot's most recent application for a third-class medical certificate noted "Yes" for current medication and indicated Benazepril 5mg/day, Inadamide 2.5mg/day, Centrum Silver Vitamin, and Vitamin E. Comments included cataract surgery on right eye, high blood pressure, back surgery, and colon surgery to remove cancer (February 24, 1999). Records from his orthopedic surgeon (October 6, 2006) described back pain and listed tramadol 50 mg, 1–2 tablets four times a day. The autopsy report noted a 500-gram heart with 50% atherosclerotic stenosis of the proximal left circumflex coronary artery, left ventricular wall thickness of 2.1 cm, and right ventricular wall thickness of 0.5 cm.
Pilot-Rated Passenger
An autopsy on the pilot-rated passenger was performed on June 3, 2008. The cause of death was blunt force trauma. Toxicological testing was negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, and ethanol; naproxen was detected in urine. Vitreous and urine glucose levels were 113 mg/dL and 44 mg/dL, respectively. Hemoglobin A1C was 7.2%.
The passenger's last application for a third-class medical certificate, dated May 22, 1987, indicated "No" for current medication and "No" for diabetes. The autopsy report noted a midline sternal scar; the heart weighed 680 grams with 90% atherosclerotic stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery and 70% stenosis of the mid circumflex coronary artery. Three coronary artery bypass grafts were present and probe patent. There was a focal 3-centimeter gray-white scar in the lateral left ventricular wall. According to the passenger's wife, he had a heart attack in 1984, underwent open heart surgery approximately ten years prior, took naproxen for pain from broken bones, and had diabetes controlled with insulin.