Fatal Crash of Experimental Wilson Cricket MC12 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania (N2SZ)

Flight History and Circumstances of the Accident On June 1, 2013, about 1144 EDT, a twin-engine, single-seat, experimental, amateur-built Wilson Cricket MC12, registration N2SZ, collided with power lines and then the ground shortly after takeoff from Doylestown Airport (DYL), Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan was filed for the local personal flight. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the airline transport pilot was fatally injured. The flight originated about one minute earlier from DYL. The pilot had trailered the airplane to DYL that day, arriving before 1000. The accident flight was his first of the day from the airport. The airport manager witnessed the aircraft being taxied to runway 23 and noted it rolled past midfield before becoming airborne in a shallow climb. The manager stated the pilot usually flies off the ground quickly and confirmed no distress call was made. FAA inspector-in-charge notes witnesses reported the wings were rocking back and forth shortly after becoming airborne. Witnesses traveling on Swamp Road (Route 313) observed the airplane flying very low and swerving side to side in a northwesterly direction. One witness saw it veer sharply to the left and noted a fireball. Another witness reported seeing the wings rocking and the airplane descending. A witness less than 200 feet southwest of the site heard the airplane flying very low; it banked left and impacted power lines. No sputtering or smoke was observed. Another witness on Route 313 reported the airplane was floundering at a 45-degree angle, followed by a nose pitch up and an immediate 90-degree roll to the left, before hitting power lines and causing an explosion. Bystanders, police, and fire rescue personnel responded to the scene.