Accident Details
On June 14, 2008, at approximately 0630 eastern daylight time, an Airborne Edge (Experimental Light Sport A) weight-shift control airplane, registration N9393S, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain during a go-around at a private field near Dunn, North Carolina. The student pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was killed. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the supervised solo flight. The local flight originated from the private field about 5 minutes prior to the accident.
According to the flight instructor supervising the student pilot's first solo flight, the pilot departed and remained within the traffic pattern without apparent difficulties and conducted a stable approach to landing. Just before touchdown, the pilot applied full power to initiate a go-around, and the airplane began to turn left. Subsequently, the left wing struck the ground, and the airplane cartwheeled before coming to rest. The pilot was extricated from the wreckage and transported to a local hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Pilot Information
The student pilot had received approximately 16 hours of flight training in weight-shift control airplanes and had accumulated about 85 hours of flight time in powered parachutes. The flight instructor noted that the airplane was equipped with a two-cycle engine, which produced left-hand torque and turning tendencies, and that the student pilot had been instructed on compensation techniques for these tendencies prior to the solo flight.
Aircraft Examination
Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that all components exhibited impact-related damage. No anomalies were observed with the airplane's flight control system.
Medical and Toxicology
An autopsy performed on June 15, 2008, by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, determined the cause of death as blunt force trauma. Toxicology tests conducted by the FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) detected ethanol in blood and liver samples, but no ethanol in the vitreous, indicating the ethanol was from sources other than ingestion. Additionally, unspecified amounts of atropine and etomidate were found in the blood and liver, consistent with medical intervention.