Rainbow Aircraft (Pty) AEROTRIKE UNREG

Summary

On 9 March 2015 at about 22:07 local time, a Rainbow Aircraft (Pty) AEROTRIKE registered UNREG, operated by Easler, Kelly LEE, was involved in an accident near Chesnee, South Carolina, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 March 2015 at 22:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Chesnee, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Private (None)

Coordinates

35.0628, -81.8917

Aircraft

Rainbow Aircraft (Pty) AEROTRIKE

Registration

UNREG

Operator

Easler, Kelly LEE

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chesnee → Chesnee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

ERA15LA219

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain lateral or bank control during takeoff, which resulted in collision with, and subsequent suspension from, a tree. Contributing to the pilot’s fatal injuries was his attempt to jump out of the trike to a nearby tree limb.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and passenger were conducting a local demonstration flight in the weight-shift-control trike. The pilot was seated in the rear seat and was controlling the wing by hand from cables attached to the control bar, and the passenger was seated in the front seat and had his hands on the control bar. The passenger reported that, during takeoff and when the trike was about 100 ft above ground level, it veered right, which the pilot corrected. The trike then suddenly banked right toward a tree line about 50 yards away. At that time, the passenger released the control bar. The pilot attempted to correct, but while in a climb attitude with the engine running, the bottom of the trike contacted a treetop. The trike descended but remained suspended in the tree. The pilot told the passenger that he did not believe the tree would support them, and he subsequently attempted to jump to a nearby limb but fell, which resulted in his sustaining fatal injuries. The passenger remained in the trike and was rescued 2 hours later. According to the passenger, he and the pilot had only sustained cuts and scratches as a result of the collision with the tree. Postaccident examination of the trike revealed no evidence of a flight control or engine malfunction; the engine was started with no discrepancies noted. Further, the passenger did not detect any engine issues during the flight. He reported that he believed that the right veer was consistent with a wing stall. Although the trike was not equipped with a control bar for the rear seat, the passenger indicated that the pilot moved the control bar in the correct direction with the cables; therefore, it is unlikely that the lack of a control bar at the rear-seat position contributed to the failure of the pilot to maintain lateral or bank control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.