U-Fly-It AEROLITE 103 UNREG

Summary

On 8 November 2015 at about 14:15 local time, a U-Fly-It AEROLITE 103 registered UNREG was involved in an accident near Midland, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 November 2015 at 14:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Midland, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Warrenton-Fauquier (HWY)

Coordinates

38.5842, -77.7083

Aircraft

U-Fly-It AEROLITE 103

Registration

UNREG

Category

Airplane

Year built

2015

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Midland → Midland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16LA046

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to attain adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle-of-attack during takeoff with the airplane’s center of gravity aft of its limit, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that the accident flight was his first flight in the ultralight airplane. He reported that, after he applied full power for takeoff, the airplane pitched up at a steep angle and that he then immediately reduced the power. A witness reported that, after the airplane pitched up, it climbed steeply and then stalled. The airplane then pitched down, impacted the runway, and flipped over. The airplane was consumed by a postcrash fire. Calculations using the airplane's performance data showed that its center of gravity (CG) exceeded the aft CG limit, which reduced the stall speed and led to an aerodynamic stall and likely increased the pitch during takeoff. It would have been difficult for the pilot to recover from the stall at low altitude due to the aft CG.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.