On April 7, 1983, a Wizard J3 (registration UNREG) was involved in an aviation accident near Dovesville, SC. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and failure to maintain adequate airspeed during climb, resulting from insufficient flight instruction. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
An ultralight aircraft crashed after the pilot took off alone following a missed instructor appointment, resulting in a near-vertical impact with an abandoned runway.
What happened
The owner and pilot had acquired the ultralight aircraft on April 21, 1983. According to his flight instructor, the pilot had received approximately one and a half hours of supervised taxi time but had never flown the vehicle before this accident flight. On the day of the incident, the pilot had scheduled an appointment to meet his instructor at the airport. When the instructor failed to keep the appointment, the pilot proceeded to take off alone.
Witnesses observed the ultralight depart and climb in a fairly steep attitude before leveling off. Another witness saw the vehicle flying level at approximately 40 feet above ground level before entering a nose-down descent. The aircraft impacted an abandoned runway in a near-vertical attitude. There was no evidence of pre-impact mechanical malfunction or failure. The pilot had no known flight experience prior to this flight.
Findings
The pilot's lack of flight experience and the absence of required supervision contributed to the accident. The vehicle sustained substantial damage upon impact with the ground.
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and failure to maintain adequate airspeed during climb, resulting from insufficient flight instruction.