Solo Wings WINDLASS AQUILLA N94370

Summary

On 23 April 2011 at about 15:00 local time, a Solo Wings WINDLASS AQUILLA registered N94370 was involved in an accident near Starke, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 April 2011 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Starke, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Private (NONE)

Coordinates

30.0239, -82.1836

Aircraft

Solo Wings WINDLASS AQUILLA

Registration

N94370

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Starke → Starke

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11LA263

1 person died.

The pilot's loss of airplane control while taxiing, which resulted in the weight-shift-controlled airplane becoming inadvertently airborne and subsequently impacting the ground. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the make and model of the accident airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had not previously flown the weight-shift-control airplane that he had purchased about 2 months before the accident and was practicing high-speed taxiing at a grass airstrip oriented on a west-northwest/east-southeast heading. The airplane subsequently became airborne and impacted the ground in a steep nose-down, left-wing-low attitude just short of a tree located about 500 feet north of the runway. The airplane's direction of travel along the runway could not be determined; however, if the airplane was transitioning from west to east, the surrounding terrain would have resulted in the airplane being more exposed to a reported southeast wind. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions. The pilot's total weight-shift-control airplane flight experience consisted of 5.7 hours flown with a flight instructor in another model airplane. Toxicological testing revealed volatiles related to alcohol; however, since the tissue specimens tested had undergone putrefaction and the pilot's wife stated that he did not consume any alcohol, the findings were likely the result of post-mortem production.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.