On November 07, 2021, about 1402 Alaska standard time, an experimental, amateur-built 2+2 airplane, N540AK, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Kodiak, Alaska. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot departed from Kodiak Municipal Airport (KDK), Kodiak, Alaska, destined for a remote off-airport landing site near Saltery Cove. A friend of the pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to transport hunting gear to the remote location to establish a hunting camp.

Numerous witnesses reported that, shortly after departure from KDK, the airplane entered a steep right turn, the nose dropped, and the airplane entered a spiraling descent in a near-vertical attitude.

The airplane impacted a gravel road at an elevation of about 92 ft mean sea level. A surveillance camera captured the impact sequence and showed the airplane impact in a right-wing-low, near-vertical attitude. The airplane came to rest about 25 ft from the initial impact site in a heavily wooded area and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and tail.

A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no pre-accident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.