Amateur-built Lancair Legacy accident near Kimberling City, Missouri, September 19, 2003
On September 19, 2003 at about 2:42 pm local time, a amateur-built Lancair Legacy, registered N27RM, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kimberling City, Missouri (Kimberling Airways 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 delayed aborted takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation in his failure to remove the pitot cover.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 19, 2003 · about 2:42 pm local time
- Place
- Kimberling City, Missouri · Kimberling Airways Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Lancair Legacy
- Registration
- N27RM · no longer on the register · serial L2K-179
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane sustained substantial damage when it impacted trees and terrain during an aborted takeoff. The pilot reported that during his pre-flight he "forgot to remove the temporary pitot cover I had fabricated, since I had failed to place an adequate warning flag on it." The pilot stated that he had received multiple aural angle of attack warnings during rotation and decided to perform an aborted takeoff. There was insufficient runway by the time the aborted takeoff was preformed. The airplane overran the end of the runway.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 25,345 hours in all; 120 in this make and model; 52 in the last 90 days; 26 in the last 30 days; 23,698 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 1, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 115.8 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, March 3, 2003; 115.8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-550-N (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MO64 Kimberling City MO at 2:40 pm
- Destination: Tulsa OK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30, 2,600 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 2,300 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.19 inHg
- Observation at 2:52 pm from SGF
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.