Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft during take-off in a cross wind, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On the morning of the accident, the pilot had removed his single-surface wing and installed a dual-surface wing on his weight shift aircraft. The winds were calm and he conducted an uneventful test flight. The pilot returned to his hanger and made some adjustments to the control bar but elected to not do another test flight because the winds were increasing at the airport. Later that afternoon, the pilot decided to do a second test flight because the wind had decreased some. The pilot departed with an 80 degree crosswind between 5 and 10 knots. He said that he did not build up sufficient airspeed on the takeoff roll and once he got airborne he was about 5 knots above stall speed and very slow. When the aircraft was approximately 100 and 150 feet in the air, he encountered wind shear and the right wing stalled and dropped. The pilot was unable to recover and the aircraft crashed on the right side of the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the entire aircraft.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# CEN11CA360