Amateur-built KITFOX 5 accident near Waunakee, Wisconsin, March 1, 1999
On March 1, 1999 at about 11:10 pm local time, a amateur-built KITFOX 5, registered N394GL, was destroyed in an accident near Waunakee, Wisconsin (Waunakee Airport). It was a personal 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 fracture of the trim actuator.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 1, 1999 · about 11:10 pm local time
- Place
- Waunakee, Wisconsin · Waunakee Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built KITFOX 5
- Registration
- N394GL · registry record · serial 59404-0021
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
As the airplane was turning base to final the pilot, 'felt a bump and vibration in the control stick...' when he commanded a final nose-up trim adjustment. The pilot reported that the remainder of the approach to the runway was uneventful. The pilot stated that, 'When I went to flare for the landing I did not have any pitch control.' The pilot reported that the airplane landed very hard and bounced back into the air in a nose high orientation. The pilot reported that during the hard landing the seat broke from its mounts and fell onto the flaperon control tube, inhibiting flaperon actuation. The pilot stated that the airplane then 'Stalled', landed tail first on the runway, ground looped, and came to rest with the right wingtip and the tail touching the ground. Post accident examination of the aircraft showed that the trim actuator was fractured at its attachment point to the airframe.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,394 hours in all; 105 in this make and model; 8 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 1,226 as pilot in command; 319 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 104 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 30, 1998; 34 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Subaru EA81 SHO (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: WI06 at 10:40 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 2,230 ft by 30 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 4 knots
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; scat at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from MSN, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.