Incident
On 5 October 2013 at 1115 UTC, an Ikarus C42 FB UK (registration G-ILRS) was undertaking a private flight at East Fortune Airfield, East Lothian. During the takeoff run, approximately 50 feet into the roll, the right wing began to rotate upwards about the fuselage. The pilot immediately abandoned the takeoff. No injuries were sustained by the crew (one pilot) or the single passenger. The aircraft sustained damage to the left and right wings, and the right flap.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft, manufactured in 2002, was powered by a single Rotax 912 ULS piston engine. It was fitted with a wing-fold mechanism that allowed the wings to be folded back and stowed parallel to the fuselage. The pilot held a National Private Pilot’s Licence, was 61 years old, and had 65 hours of total flying experience (25 on type), with 8 hours in the last 90 days and 0.5 hour in the last 28 days.
Background
The pilot had owned the aircraft for six months and had previously unfolded the wings on approximately six occasions. His normal procedure, as per the C42 Owners Manual, was to ask an assistant to hold the wingtip while he bolted the lower end of the wing strut to the fuselage, and then check that the wing was correctly attached by lifting the wingtip.
Investigation Findings
On the day of the incident, the pilot removed the aircraft from its trailer and unfolded the wings with the assistance of another pilot. The pre‑flight and start‑up checks were uneventful. However, the cause of the wing rotating upwards was the incorrect fitting of the wing strut lower attachment bolt, which had only passed through the fuselage mounting bracket and not through the strut. The pilot reported that on this occasion he believed the assisting pilot had carried out the final check of the wing attachment, and therefore did not feel it necessary to repeat the check himself.