Amateur-built KIT FOX 5 accident near Bowling Green, Ohio, August 30, 2012
On August 30, 2012 at about 3:30 pm local time, a amateur-built KIT FOX 5, registered N84KF, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Bowling Green, Ohio (Wood County airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot receiving instruction's excessive braking during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 30, 2012 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Bowling Green, Ohio · Wood County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built KIT FOX 5
- Registration
- N84KF · no longer on the register · serial S9412-0084
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor was getting the pilot familiarized in his new tail wheel-equipped airplane. A week before the accident, the flight instructor and the pilot flew the airplane and the pilot made several uneventful landings even though the instructor noted that it was difficult to apply pressure on the rudder pedals without engaging the brakes. On the day of the accident, the pilot made two uneventful landings on a hard-surface runway before landing on grass due to a wind shift. The pilot's first grass landing was uneventful. However, on the second landing, the pilot applied too much brake pressure and the airplane nosed over. The flight instructor said the accident happened so fast that he did not have enough time to tell the pilot to get off the brakes.
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
What happened, in order
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Pilot
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: sport pilot
- Flight time: 1,211 hours in all; 2 in this make and model; 63 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days; 1,052 as pilot in command; 173 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 27, 2013
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: private, sport pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 77 hours in all; 2 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 23 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 21, 1987
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 97 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 2012; 97 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,256 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912a (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 419 Bowling Green OH at 2:30 pm
- Destination: 419 Bowling Green OH
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 2:30 pm from 1G0
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
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.