History of Flight
On August 8, 2017, about 2005 central daylight time, a Pegasus Quantum Q-2 weight-shift-control aircraft, registration N56092, crashed into a river during a go-around at Fort Atkinson Municipal Airport (61C), Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. The sport pilot and the pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured, and the aircraft was substantially damaged. The aircraft was operated under Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, which departed 61C about 1930.
According to a flight instructor on the ramp, the pilot made a solo landing around 1915. After the passenger boarded the rear seat, the aircraft departed runway 21 and performed several stable low approaches to a parallel grass runway. Subsequently, the aircraft made an unstable approach, which the instructor attributed to the passenger possibly flying. He heard engine power increase and saw the aircraft bank left. The bank steepened, and the aircraft descended rapidly until it struck the river and submerged.
Personnel Information
The 51-year-old pilot held a Federal Aviation Administration sport pilot certificate for weight-shift-control aircraft and a repairman certificate for light sport aircraft in that category. He never applied for a medical certificate and was not required to do so. The 16-year-old passenger held a student pilot certificate and had recently completed a solo flight in a fixed-wing airplane. The accident flight was his first in a weight-shift-control aircraft.
Aircraft Information
The single-engine, propeller-driven, pusher-configured, two-seat tandem weight-shift-control aircraft was manufactured by P&M Aviation in 2007 and purchased by the pilot in 2009. It was powered by a Rotax 912 four-stroke engine and equipped with a three-bladed composite propeller. The aircraft had a pod for the pilot and passenger suspended by a triangular frame, hinged below the wing, allowing weight-shift control of pitch and roll. Both occupants had headsets for in-flight communication. Control inputs were made via a control bar and were opposite of those in a fixed-wing airplane: pushing right on the bar turned left, and pushing forward increased pitch attitude. Extension training bars were installed for rear-seat control inputs, located behind the front seat pilot's field of view.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Postaccident examination revealed intact wing tip straps, all battens and luff lines in place and attached, and all flying wires intact except a rear starboard wire that had fractured and wrapped around the propeller hub. The fracture surface had a broomstraw appearance. There was a damaged area on the wing trailing edge where the propeller protruded. A Bettsometer test measured fabric strength; all areas exceeded the recommended 1,360 grams of force except a section of the starboard wing that tested at 1,100 grams of force. The starboard wing fabric was not torn.
The engine hand-rotated with continuity confirmed. Spark plugs appeared normal. The oil tank was full, and the fuel tank contained about 11 gallons. Both training bars were bent to the left, most notably near the connection to the base tube. Examination found no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Medical and Pathological Information
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner performed autopsies. The pilot's cause of death was blunt force injuries with no significant natural disease identified. FAA toxicology testing found diphenhydramine in urine (unquantified) and at 0.049 µg/ml in cavity blood. Diphenhydramine is a sedating antihistamine with warnings about impairing hazardous tasks. The passenger's cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries; no significant natural disease was identified, and toxicology did not detect any tested-for substances.