Accident Details
On December 30, 2021, at approximately 1514 central standard time, a J&J Ultralights Seawing, registration N285SW, was substantially damaged when it struck a house near Golden, Missouri. The aircraft was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot, who was not certificated, sustained fatal injuries.
Flight Sequence
A video recording of the accident showed that after takeoff, the aircraft pitched up and banked left, then transitioned into a steep dive. After recovering toward level flight, the aircraft again pitched up and banked left. While in the second left turn, it entered a steep dive and impacted a house, resulting in damage to both wings, the fuselage, and the empennage. Engine noise was audible throughout the video until ground impact.
Aircraft Examination
Examination of the engine and airframe revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Pilot Information
The pilot's certificate had been revoked on January 23, 2020, due to his failure to report two suspensions of his driver's license and a conviction for unlawful alcohol concentration. The pilot purchased the accident aircraft about six months before the accident. He had completed two introductory flights in a weight-shift control (WSC) aircraft that handled substantially differently from the accident aircraft. Family members reported that the accident flight was the pilot's first flight in that aircraft.
Aircraft Information
The previous owner stated that the flight characteristics of the accident aircraft included a more abrupt stall than other WSC aircraft and a narrow margin between cruise and stall speeds. He described the stall as a "parachute straight forward" maneuver that required a substantial amount of altitude for recovery.
Toxicology
Toxicology testing performed by the Federal Aviation Administration Forensic Sciences Laboratory identified delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at 3.4 ng/ml in cavity blood and 2.3 ng/ml in urine; its inactive metabolite, carboxy-delta-9-THC, at 38.3 ng/ml in cavity blood and 321.4 ng/ml in urine; and its active metabolite, 11-hydroxy-delta-9-THC, was inconclusive in cavity blood and at 23.7 ng/ml in urine.