History of Flight
On February 16, 2016, about 1452 Mountain standard time, an Evolution Revo special light sport weight-shift control trike, N107SB, impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from Buckeye Municipal Airport (BXK), Buckeye, Arizona. The pilot, who was the sole person on board, received fatal injuries, and the aircraft was substantially damaged. The personal flight was conducted under visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was filed.
According to the aircraft owner, the pilot had contacted him expressing interest in purchasing a Revo, and the owner eventually agreed to let the pilot fly the aircraft. The evening before the accident, the owner flew the pilot as a passenger on an uneventful flight. On the day of the accident, both conducted the preflight inspection, noting no anomalies.
The pilot planned to fly solo and then return for a passenger. The owner observed that the takeoff roll on runway 17 was normal, but shortly after becoming airborne, the wing moved to the full flare position (full leading edge up). The wing remained in that position, and the aircraft climbed rapidly and steeply, then appeared to stall at an altitude estimated by witnesses to be less than 100 feet above ground level. The aircraft turned right, rolled, and descended rapidly in a nose-down attitude. The ballistic parachute was not activated.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was manufactured in 2015 by Evolution and equipped with a Rotax 912-IS engine. The airframe and engine had about 69 hours total time in service. The aircraft consisted of a carriage and a wing. The carriage housed tandem seats, with the front seat as the primary pilot station. Flight controls were a horizontal control bar; inputs were reversed compared to conventional airplanes: pushing forward caused climb, and moving left caused a right turn.
The wing, a fabric-covered aluminum tube assembly, attached to the carriage by a mast. Pitch trim was available for cruise but had no visual indication of setting and no specified takeoff/landing range.
Wreckage and Impact
Ground scars extended about 340 feet, beginning with a tire skid mark on the runway, then earth-scoring and gouging, leading to the main wreckage about 1,500 feet from the start of the takeoff roll. The carriage came to rest on its left side, significantly disrupted. The wing was fracture-separated but adjacent. There was no pre- or post-impact fire. The ballistic parachute was still in its case and had not been fired. The front restraint harness belts had been cut for pilot extraction.
Examination of the engine revealed no pre-impact mechanical issues. The engine rotated freely with thumb compression on all cylinders. The propeller blade damage was consistent with power at impact. The pitch trim mechanism showed thread damage attributed to impact loads. No pre-impact mechanical malfunctions were found.
Pilot Information
The pilot held a commercial certificate with airplane single-engine land, multi-engine land, and instrument ratings, along with sport endorsements for gyroplane and powered parachutes, and a flight instructor certificate. His most recent FAA medical certificate was from 2004, and he reported 4,500 total flight hours on that application.
All of his weight-shift control (WSC) experience, totaling 13.5 hours, was obtained in the two weeks before the accident, exclusively in a Northwing Navajo. He had no solo WSC time. His primary CFI strongly advised against flying the Revo at his experience level, citing the aircraft's sensitivity.
Meteorological and Airport Information
The automated weather observation at BXK at 1455 reported winds from 130 degrees at 8 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 27°C, dew point -2°C, and altimeter 29.93 inHg.
Parachute System and Placards
The aircraft was equipped with a Ballistic Recovery System rocket-propelled parachute. First responders were initially unaware of the rocket. An FAA inspector alerted them about 1.5 hours after the accident. The ASTM standard required placards near the egress point; the aircraft came to rest on its left side, obscuring any co-located placards. However, examination revealed no placards were installed; they were found unused in the owner's documentation. The owner was unaware he needed to affix them.
Flight Recorder Data
The EFIS SD card contained no recorded flight data. The engine control unit (ECU) data showed normal engine operation from engine start to impact. The aircraft climbed rapidly, reaching a maximum height of about 80 feet above the runway, with the engine at full rpm until about 0.2 seconds before the end of data.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy determined the cause of death as multiple blunt force trauma. Toxicology tests were negative for alcohol, drugs, carbon monoxide, and cyanide. The pilot had moderately severe cardiovascular disease but no evidence of a recent heart attack or incapacitating event.