Amateur-built KITFOX IV 1200 accident near Granby, New York, August 19, 1998
On August 19, 1998 at about 3:25 pm local time, a amateur-built KITFOX IV 1200, registered N4038T, was destroyed in an accident near Granby, New York (Loren'S Aviation airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 19, 1998 · about 3:25 pm local time
- Place
- Granby, New York · Loren'S Aviation · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built KITFOX IV 1200 KITFOX IV
- Registration
- N4038T · registry record · serial 1891
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The experimental airplane was modified with the addition of an elevator trim tab and manual cockpit control for the elevator trim tab. On the first flight following installation, the airplane was observed to depart, turned crosswind and downwind as though returning for a landing. During the right turn from downwind to base, the airplane nose dived into trees. The PIC was fatally injured, and the owner/pilot in the right seat had no memory of the accident or events leading to it. The elevator trim was found with the trailing edge down, and the cable would slip where it attached to the cockpit control lever. The airplane had not been inspected and a new Special Airworthiness Certificate was not issued as required by the Experimental Operation Limitations.
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; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 26 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 28, 1998; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912 UL (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE at 3:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:54 pm from SYR, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.