Accident Details
On October 4, 2020, at approximately 0935 Pacific daylight time, an Evolution Revo weight-shift-control light sport aircraft, commonly referred to as a trike, with registration N449WB, sustained substantial damage following an accident near Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR) in Hawthorne, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The aircraft was operating under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
The pilot had been cleared to depart from runway 25 at HHR. Flight track data indicated that after departure, the aircraft veered slightly left of the centerline before initiating a right turn. Subsequently, the aircraft was no longer tracked by radar. It struck a tree and then the north wall of a culvert located approximately one-quarter mile northwest of the departure end of runway 25.
Witness Accounts
A witness who was performing a preflight inspection on his gyrocopter observed the aircraft take off and climb to about 30 to 40 feet above ground level before banking right. The aircraft cleared the airport perimeter fence and continued its right bank until it disappeared from the witness's view.
Another witness, who had flown the same aircraft days before the accident, watched the departure. He saw the aircraft begin a bank to the right and observed the pilot push the steering to the left, after which the aircraft banked harder to the right before flying into a drainage ditch. This witness noted that aircraft departing from HHR typically make a left bank after takeoff due to the proximity of Los Angeles International Airport to the north. He also stated that the engine was running throughout the flight.
The same witness reported that he had met with the pilot earlier that morning and that the pilot was acting normally. Additionally, he recalled that a couple of years prior, the pilot had departed from the runway and steered toward the airport tower before correcting the flight path, and that the pilot had acknowledged his steering mistake.
The pilot's logbooks were not available during the investigation.
Postaccident Examination
Examination of the airframe and engine after the accident revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The propeller blades exhibited missing material from their midsections to their tips. Recorded engine data indicated that the engine was producing power at the time of the accident.