Accident Details
On July 9, 2018, at approximately 1845 central daylight time, an experimental light sport Northwing 17-M weight-shift-control trike (registration N959RR) was substantially damaged in an accident near Section, Alabama. The noncertificated pilot was fatally injured. The aircraft was being operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot's wife reported that he had purchased the aircraft about one month before the accident and had mentioned owning a similar aircraft approximately 25 years earlier. She stated that the pilot had flown the trike at least once with the previous owner and was planning to take flight lessons from a local pilot. The accident flight was his first solo operation of the aircraft after purchase.
The day before the accident, the pilot asked a neighbor to mow a grass runway on the property behind the residences, subsequently creating a 45-foot by 650-foot strip oriented east/west. On the day of the accident, the pilot told his wife he would be taxiing the aircraft, but she did not anticipate a flight. At 1830, she observed him taxi back and forth on the runway several times, then taxi to the west end, turn east, increase engine power, and take off. No anomalies were apparent during takeoff. The pilot climbed on a southeasterly heading before circling the house five or six times.
About 10 minutes later, the pilot returned for landing to the west. His wife saw the aircraft on final approach at a slight angle to the runway, then it abruptly touched down and bounced. The aircraft skipped along the runway without settling and remained airborne. After a jump, it turned right, and the right wing passed through the top of a large tree, slicing several branches. The aircraft then turned further right and dove into the ground.
Pilot background: The pilot did not hold a Federal Aviation Administration airman or medical certificate. Whether he had previous flight training or experience could not be determined.
Postaccident Examination
An FAA inspector examined the trike after the accident. The fuselage and wings were damaged from the impact, and the seats were dislodged. Ground scars and tree branches were found near the wreckage. The tubular frame was bent in multiple locations, but tension cables and the control bar remained connected and appeared functional. Fuel lines contained fuel, and the fuel filter was clear and debris-free. The engine was clean and relatively intact. The canopy/wing was torn, with several ribs and tubular frame members bent. All three propeller blades were delaminated and splintered; two blades remained attached to the hub, and one blade section was found about 30 feet from the wreckage. Tall grass, 9 to 12 inches in length, was wrapped around the landing gear wheels. Tire marks from the landing gear led off the southeast end of the runway for about 50 feet into the grass, indicating the previous takeoff path.
Autopsy and Toxicology
The Alabama Department of Forensic Science, through the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Forensic Sciences, performed an autopsy on the pilot. The cause of death was blunt force trauma of the chest.
The FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory conducted toxicological testing on the pilot. No medications, illicit drugs, ethanol, or combustion products that could pose hazards to flight safety were detected.