MEADOW GROVE, NE, USA
N515JK
Kohles KITFOX III
During an FAA Private Pilot Proficiency Check, the pilot was to complete three touch & go's for an FAA examiner, who was observing from the ground. This was the pilot's first flight in the airplane, since he ground looped it on 6/4/97. The pilot reported that on the initial takeoff roll, 'the tail didn't appear to come up with the stick forward. I tried to abort the take off but couldn't get the throttle pulled back. While struggling with the throttle I lost control.' The airplane veered to the left, exited the prepared runway surface, and came to rest in an adjacent field. After the accident, the pilot stated that he didn't know how to use the vernier type throttle properly.
On June 4, at 1730 central daylight time, a KitFox III, N515JK, exited the prepared runway surface, following a loss of directional control during a takeoff roll near Meadow Grove, Nebraska. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was departing in visual meteorological conditions for the local planed flight. No flight plan was on file. The pilot was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. In a written statement, the pilot reported that he was completing a FAA Private Pilot Proficiency Check when the incident occurred. The proficiency check was a result of the pilot having a previous incident in the same KitFox earlier in the year. It was the first time the pilot had attempted to fly the airplane since the last incident. Being observed by an FAA inspector on the ground, the pilot was instructed to complete three touch & go's. The pilot reported that on the initial takeoff roll, "the tail didn't appear to come up with the stick forward. I tried to abort the take off but couldn't get the throttle pulled back. While struggling with the throttle I lost control." The airplane veered to the left, exited the prepared runway surface, coming to rest in an adjacent field. Subsequently, after the accident, the pilot stated that he didn't know how to use the vernier type throttle properly.
failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during an aborted takeoff. A factor was the pilot's lack of recent experience in the make and model of airplane.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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