N394GL

On March 1, 1999, at 1710 central standard time (CST), a Calkins Kitfox 5, N394GL, piloted by a commercial pilot, was destroyed during a hard landing and subsequent ground loop at the Waunakee Airport, near Waunakee, Wisconsin. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot-in-command and pilot-rated passenger reported no injuries. The flight departed Waunakee Airport at 1630 CST for a local flight.

According to the pilot-in-command's written statement, as the airplane was turning base to final the pilot, "felt a bump and vibration in the control stick..." when he commanded a final nose-up trim adjustment. The pilot reported that the remainder of the approach to the runway was uneventful. The pilot stated that, "When I went to flare for the landing I did not have any pitch control." The pilot reported that the airplane landed very hard and bounced back into the air in a nose high orientation. The pilot reported that during the hard landing the seat broke from its mounts and fell onto the flaperon control tube, inhibiting flaperon actuation. The pilot stated that the airplane then "Stalled", landed tail first on the runway, ground looped, and came to rest with the right wingtip and the tail touching the ground.

Post accident inspection of the aircraft showed that the trim actuator was fractured at its attachment point to the airframe.