NTSB Factual Report

On Saturday, July 7, 2001, at 1310 hours Pacific daylight time, a Sparks KR-2, N122MS, was substantially damaged when it struck a runway light at Gillespie Field, San Diego, California. The private pilot, who was the only occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was conducted by the owner under 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane departed Brown Field, San Diego, at 1250 for the flight to Gillespie Field, where the accident occurred. No flight plan was filed.

The pilot, who was the original owner and builder of this aircraft, was interviewed by an investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board shortly after the accident. He stated that while he was decelerating during his landing rollout, he encountered a gust of wind from the left, which caused the airplane to become airborne again with the left wing high. He added power and avoided a stall, but had drifted off the runway. The left main landing gear hit a runway light, causing the airplane to ground loop, which damaged the outboard 2 feet of the left wing when it contacted the ground. The pilot stated that he would repair the wing and fly the airplane again. He stated that the damage was easy to repair and would take only a few days to complete.

According to the pilot, he had approximately 2,000 hours of flight time, 700 of which was in the accident airplane. He had logged 50 hours in this airplane within the last 90 days.

NTSB Probable Cause

Failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during landing.