N360XL

On November 19, 2016, about 1600 central standard time, a Northwing Navajo, N360XL, impacted trees during an unintentional takeoff from Greater Morris County Airport (8F5), Daingerfield, Texas. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The non-certificated pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.

Witnesses told a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper that the airplane took off from 8F5. Immediately after takeoff, the airplane turned hard to the left and collided with trees next to the runway.

Two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors went to the accident site and found the airplane on the west side of the airport in a tree line about 400 ft from the runway centerline. The airplane was lying on its left side and pointed in a southerly direction. Broken tree branches about 40 ft above the ground were noted. There was a strong odor of fuel smell at the accident site. Fuel was noted in the fuel filter bowl. There was substantial damage to the wing structure and fabric. The FAA inspectors did not report any mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

The inspectors interviewed the owner, who stated that he had recently purchased, but had not registered, the airplane. He stated that he had purchased the airplane to learn to fly. He stated that he was unaware that the airplane needed to be registered. He told the inspectors that he asked a friend to look at the airplane and check it out. His friend told him he was unfamiliar with this particular airplane and did not think it was a good idea for him to fly it. His friend boarded the airplane with the intention of making a high-speed taxi. The owner observed the airplane move down the runway, lift off the ground, then turn to the left and crash into the trees.

The inspectors interviewed the friend, who told them he had received a telephone call from the owner, who asked him to come out to the airport to look at the airplane that he had recently purchased. Upon arrival, the friend said that he was unfamiliar with the airplane and did not want to fly it. The friend stated that he intended to do a high-speed taxi only and had no intention to fly. He stated that during the taxi test, the airplane "must have experienced a gust of wind" and the airplane lifted off. It then turned hard to the left and crashed into the trees. He told the FAA inspectors that he was not a certificated pilot although he had received some flight training and had some experience flying ultralights. He said that the controls in the ultralights were different than the controls that were installed in accident airplane.