20120629013959A

A Hawk Ssc experimental light sport aircraft, N163F, took off from skylane airport, a grass strip near Evansville, IN. The aircraft flew approximately a half mile north of the airport, then started to make a right turn to return to the field. Mid-way through the turn, the aircraft stalled and crashed into a cornfield. When vandenburg county sheriff deputies arrived at the accident scene, they found four individuals had already loaded the aircraft onto a flatbed truck. FAA investigators arrived at the scene and found the wreckage already strapped down in the truck. The wings were detached and in the bed of the truck. The metal tubes for the right wing spar were broken. The engine and propeller were still attached to the structure. The fuel tank was detached from the aircraft and in the bed of the truck. The tank appeared to contain 8 1/2 gallons of fuel in the 10 gallon tank. A tape recording of a conversation between the sheriff deputies and the pilot was obtained. In that conversation, the pilot revealed that he had no pilot's certificate, that he had received some training in "ultra-lights," and that he was performing some "crow-hopping" at the grass strip that morning, which he described as short takeoffs and landings. He decided to attempt to fly about a mile north of the field and then circle back to the grass strip. During his turn back, the aircraft started to vibrate. The pilot recognized a stall and applied forward stick pressure, but was too low to recover before impacting the ground.