Incident Overview
Shortly after takeoff, the student pilot encountered difficulty controlling the light sport airplane. The flight instructor took over the controls and, suspecting a malfunction of the flight controls, opted to land on the remaining runway. The fiberglass airplane struck the runway hard, resulting in a propeller strike and the collapse of the nose landing gear and left main landing gear. The airplane came to rest upright on the runway in a left-wing-low attitude. After the engine was shut down, both the instructor and the student exited the airplane without assistance.
Wind Conditions
Around the time of the accident, the wind was shifting between a quartering headwind and a quartering tailwind.
Post-Accident Examination
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane and reported that no preimpact anomalies were found with the flight controls.