Amateur-built Kit Fox 4-1200 accident near Virginia, Minnesota, June 15, 2002
On June 15, 2002 at about 7:00 pm local time, a amateur-built Kit Fox 4-1200, registered N598HL, was destroyed in an accident near Virginia, Minnesota. 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
An in-flight collision with a bird that resulted in severed fuel lines and the subsequent in-flight fire and loss of engine power. A factor in the accident was the soft terrain condition.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 15, 2002 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Virginia, Minnesota · 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 4-1200
- Registration
- N598HL · no longer on the register · serial 1734
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While in cruise flight the amateur built airplane impacted a bird which severed the fuel primer line and its supply line, resulting in an in-flight fire and loss of engine power. The pilot reported, "I made a steep, descending right turn back to the lakebed." The pilot stated that during landing the "right main entered a wet area and dug in and flipped the plane onto its back." The airplane was destroyed during a post-impact fire. The pilot reported that he found the charred remains of a bird among the engine remains. The pilot stated that the propeller spinner had impact damage and the fuel primer line and its supply line were severed.
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: 620 hours in all; 398 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 620 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 27, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 398 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, May 8, 2002; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Nsi EA-81 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire in flight and on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 12D Tower MN at 6:50 pm
- Destination: EVM Eveleth MN
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.87 inHg
- Observation at 6:56 pm from EVM, 8 miles away
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.