Amateur-built Kitfox S7 Super Spor accident near Silver Bay, Minnesota, March 29, 2018
On March 29, 2018 at about 2:30 pm local time, a 2017 amateur-built Kitfox S7 Super Spor, registered N141AB, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Silver Bay, Minnesota (Silver Bay Muni 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).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s hard landing and subsequent failure to maintain airspeed and bank control during the aborted landing, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 29, 2018 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Silver Bay, Minnesota · Silver Bay Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Kitfox S7 Super Spor, built 2017
- Registration
- N141AB · registry record · serial KA13243271
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot in the experimental amateur-built, tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, during landing with a slight right crosswind, he flared too early and the airplane bounced. He aborted the landing by adding full power, and the airplane drifted to the left. The left wing contacted the ground and he over corrected to the right. The airplane stalled and impacted the ground, and subsequently nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and the empennage. The pilot reported that the wind at the accident airport at the time of the accident was from 280° at 6 knots, gusting to 8 knots. The pilot aborted the landing on runway 25. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Hard landing during landing defining event
- Abnormal runway contact during landing
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll)
- Attempted remediation/recovery during landing
- Nose over/nose down during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Airspeed › Not attained/maintained
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Lateral/bank control › Not attained/maintained
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Landing flare › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: sport pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 965 hours in all; 58 in this make and model; 19 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 942 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 15, 2017
- Medical certificate: Sport Pilot
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 30.5 hours
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912ULS (piston); 43 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BFW Silver Bay MN at 2:25 pm
- Destination: BFW Silver Bay MN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25, 3,200 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,700 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 14°F (-10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 2:15 pm from KBFW
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number GAA18CA186.