N10224

On September 14, 2003, about 1030 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt Kitfox Classic IV, N10224, was substantially damaged during a hard landing at the Limington-Harmon Airport, Limington, Maine. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the local flight. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

The airplane was on approach to Runway 11, a 2,973-foot-long, 50-foot-wide, asphalt runway.

In a written statement, the pilot said that the approach was normal. During the flare, the airplane's nose pitched up and he continued to a 3-point landing. The tail-wheel and main landing gear came down "rather hard," and the right main landing gear failed. The airplane departed the right side of the runway and struck trees.

The accident flight was the airplane's first flight after being assembled. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not revealed any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions.

The pilot reported about 140 hours of total flight experience, which included 1.7 hours in make and model.

Winds reported at an airport located about 20 miles east-southeast of the accident site, at 1051, were variable at 3 knots.