N9272V

On February 14, 1998, at 1200 eastern standard time, a Charles Holmes Kitfox XL, N9272V, collided with the ground, according to a witness, while attempting a landing at the Burrs Strawberry Farm Airstrip in Homestead, Florida. The student pilot reported that the local personal flight operated under the provisions of Title 14, CFR Part 91. The student pilot had not filed a flight plan. According to the data from the nearest weather reporting facility, visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The student pilot stated that he was not injured during the accident sequence. The airplane, reportedly, sustained substantial airframe damage. The student pilot reported that the flight departed Homestead General Aviation Airport in Homestead, Florida, at 1140.

According to the student pilot, while on final approach to land, he realized that he was too high for a normal touchdown. The student pilot initiated a slip maneuver to lose altitude. He also reported that the airplane was not completely aligned with the runway during the slip maneuver. According to an eyewitness at the Burrs Strawberry Farm Airstrip, the airplane touched down hard on the runway. After the touchdown, the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane skidded off the runway and collided with a tree.

No mechanical problems, with the airplane, were reported by the pilot. Subsequent to the accident, the student pilot was given additional flight training in conventional landing gear aircraft.