Mesafox LLC KITFOX accident near Orlando, Florida, January 19, 2023
On January 19, 2023 at about 4:15 pm local time, a 2022 Mesafox LLC KITFOX, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N915KF, was substantially damaged in an accident during taxi near Orlando, Florida (Orlando Intl 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
An inadvertent encounter with the jet blast of another airplane while taxiing, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane’s left wing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 19, 2023 · about 4:15 pm local time
- Place
- Orlando, Florida · Orlando Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mesafox LLC KITFOX 7 STi, built 2022, amateur-built
- Registration
- N915KF · registry record · serial KA21118495
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was taxiing for departure at a large international airport. As he taxied from the ramp toward the taxiway that he had been cleared to take to the departure runway, the right wing of his airplane lifted. The airplane’s left wing then contacted the ground, and the airplane began to slide across the ground. In a statement following the accident, the pilot described that he had inadvertently taxied into the jet blast of an airplane that was about 500 feet away, which he was unable to see because his view was obscured by another large airplane parked on the ramp. The pilot subsequently shut his airplane’s engine down, exited the airplane, and tried to hold its wing down and keep it from contacting the ground again. He described that the jet blast made it difficult to keep the airplane from tipping over again and that he was lifted in the air several times as he tried to hold the right wing down. After serval minutes, several individuals assisted the pilot with moving the airplane out of the jet blast. The airplane’s left wing spar was substantially damaged during the accident.
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
- Prop/jet/rotor blast/suction during taxi defining event
- Dragged wing/rotor/float/other during taxi
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Aircraft › Awareness of condition
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,907 hours in all; 366 in this make and model; 77 in the last 90 days; 43 in the last 30 days; 2,776 as pilot in command; 210 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 17, 2022
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 360 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, March 11, 2022
- Maximum gross weight: 1,550 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 915iS (piston); 360 hours total
- Operator: Mesafox LLC
The flight
- Destination: X04 Apopka FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18R, 12,004 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; a few clouds at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.14 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 am from MCO, 1 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KMCO 191553Z 18013KT 10SM FEW025 SCT055 BKN250 23/17 A3014 RMK AO2 SLP203 T02330167
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on June 15, 2023. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigative Photographs | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.