Amateur-built KITFOX SERIES 6 accident near Parowan, Utah, May 30, 2024
On May 30, 2024 at about 10:10 pm local time, a 2004 amateur-built KITFOX SERIES 6, registered N506F, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Parowan, Utah (Parowan 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 inability to control the airplane during landing due to tailwheel assembly damage sustained during a previous shimmy event that occurred for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 30, 2024 · about 10:10 pm local time
- Place
- Parowan, Utah · Parowan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built KITFOX SERIES 6, built 2004
- Registration
- N506F · registry record · serial S60109-063
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that, during takeoff, he felt a shimmy in the tailwheel-equipped airplane. During the subsequent three-point landing, the airplane veered left immediately upon touchdown. The airplane departed the left side of runway and ground looped, which collapsed the right main landing gear and substantially damaged the right wing. An NTSB structures engineer’s review of postaccident photographs of the tailwheel assembly determined that deformation and fracture features on the fitting flanges on the extruded base of the tailwheel assembly were from a twisting motion about the single bolt that secured the tailwheel assembly to the suspension assembly, consistent with that resulting from a tailwheel shimmy event. The accident circumstances and damage evidence are consistent with a failure of the tailwheel assembly due to improper movement or rotation around the tailwheel attachment bolt during the shimmy event during takeoff, which resulted in a subsequent loss of control of the airplane during landing. However, the investigation could not determine if the shimmy event resulted from a loose attachment bolt, or if the movement around the attachment bolt resulted from the shimmy event.
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
- Runway excursion during landing (landing roll)
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Unknown/Not determined
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Attain/maintain not possible
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 10,179 hours in all; 24 in this make and model; 80 in the last 90 days; 41 in the last 30 days; 6,343 as pilot in command; 1,200 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 15, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 855 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, October 8, 2023
- Maximum gross weight: 1,550 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912 ULS-2 (piston); 855 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CAG Craig CO at 6:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 04/2, 5,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.11 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from KCDC, 16 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KCDC 302153Z AUTO 36007KT 300V040 10SM CLR 25/M02 A3011 RMK AO2 SLP128 T02501017
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
6 documents, released by the NTSB on April 22, 2026. 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 | Record of Conversation - Pilot | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Mfr - Tailwheel Assembly Evaluation | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Mfr - Tailwheel Product Information | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 5 | Photos | PDF, 8 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Tailwheel Diagram | PDF, 1 page | 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.