Amateur-built KIT FOX accident near Chugiak, Alaska, July 31, 1997
On July 31, 1997 at about 9:30 pm local time, a amateur-built KIT FOX, registered N596AK, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chugiak, Alaska (Birchwood airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of total experience in the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 31, 1997 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Chugiak, Alaska · Birchwood · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built KIT FOX
- Registration
- N596AK · no longer on the register · serial S960100200
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was conducting touch-and-go landings in the tailwheel-equipped homebuilt airplane. Before the accident landing, the pilot decided to deploy the airplane's flaperons at an intermediate setting. After the airplane touched down, and while traveling about 30 knots, he retracted the flaperons. The airplane then swerved to the right and ground looped. The right main landing gear was bent and broken. The right wing struck the ground, bending the wing spar. The pilot had accrued 88.7 hours of total aeronautical experience, with about 25 hours of experience in the accident airplane since it was built. The accident flight was the first use of the flaperons. The pilot reported the use of flaperons limits the effectiveness of the ailerons. Once the flaperons are retracted, the ailerons regain their full authority.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 89 hours in all; 18 in this make and model; 44 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 25 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 22, 1997; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,550 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BCV at 4:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19, 4,010 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 10,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.