N366KR

On December 1, 2001, at about 1705 eastern standard time, an experimental Byrd KR-2S, N366KR, registered and operated by a private individual as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed while on final approach for landing in the vicinity of Linden, North Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was destroyed and the private-rated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight departed Raleigh-Durham about 20 minutes before the accident.

According to the pilot, while on final approach to runway 22, the sun's rays hit his canopy at just the right angle to blind his vision. At about 100 feet before the runway, the left wing tip collided with a tree top and spun the aircraft to the terrain. The airplane collided with the terrain in a vertical, nose down attitude, resulting in the fuselage breaking up at about the instrument panel and the wing to separate.

According to an FAA inspector, the sun's obscuring of the pilot's vision prevented him from sensing that the aircraft was drifting left of runway centerline as he approached the threshold of runway 22. The left wing struck a tree, causing the aircraft to impact the terrain.