20190320001689A

On 03/20/2019 at approximately 1508 eastern standard time, a light sport slsa Apollo Monsoon (weight shift control trike), N156AP, s/n 000013 crashed at Rolling Meadows Airfield in Sharpsburg, GA. The pilot sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to atlanta medical center. The flight originated from kffc peachtree city, GA at approximately 1430. Day, visual meteorological conditions prevailed with winds variable at 4 knots from kffc metars data.

I was notified at 1533 local time by the regional operations center. I arrived on scene at 1605 local. The site had been secured by coweta county sheriff?s office and the county fire department was also on scene. I conducted an examination of the accident scene, took photographs, and gathered memory cards from a go-pro camera and the aircraft flight computer. The pilot in command?s father was also on scene. The father stated that his son just purchased the aircraft from Oregon and that he experienced flight control issues the day before. I asked him how the aircraft was transported to Georgia and he stated it was transported via truck with the wing removed. I asked for more information on the wing installation/rigging but the father had limited data. I released the aircraft back to the family at 1700 local.

The crash scene showed that the aircraft attempted to land from north to south. Small tree limbs were damaged just north of the wreckage site on the west side of the airstrip. The aircraft impacted the base of two large pine trees about 6 feet off the ground. The force from the impact caused one pine tree?s top to shear off. The impact caused the fiberglass fuselage to shatter and spin around coming to rest at a nw direction. The engine/rear wheel assembly was separated and lying on the ground. Both carbon fiber propeller blades were shattered. The left side of the wing leading edge was driven up into the trees with the wing struts/weight shift linkage bent around the tree. The right side of the wing was broken and resting on the ground. The trike seating area was broken apart but still attached to the wing and hanging from the tree. The fuel tank was breached and the ground was soaked with fuel. The impact caused the ballistic recovery system to fire and the parachute rocket impaled the pine tree.

The go-pro videos revealed the PIC had control issues with the aircraft. The first several videos were dated 03/17/2019, timestamped 14:39, 14:57, and 15:14. These first videos are in real time with audio. They show him flying the aircraft from Rolling Meadows to kffc. The flight was very unstable but he was able to land at the airport. Upon engine shutdown he calls his wife and makes several statements such as ?good news I?m alive I didn?t crash?, ?the wing is a pain in the a**?, ?missed approach at our place?, ?wants to sell the sport wing?, ?had to fight it the whole time?, ?doesn?t like it?, ?difficult in the wind?. The crash video was recorded in fast forward with no audio. It is dated 3/20/2019 and timestamped 15:57. The crash video shows control inputs that steer the aircraft into the trees. Control bar is full left and forward which would cause full right steer and nose up.

I received a phone call from PIC and some pilot and aircraft logbook information on 5/14/2019. His pilot logbook shows 5 hours and 3 landings from 2010 in N94326, which is a wsc trike. He said that he missed rigged the wing the day before and then switched some rigging around before the crash. He stated that he has not received a regulatory check ride nor a weight shift control endorsement/rating and that the aircraft did not have a current annual condition inspection. The only maintenance record sent was the engine logbook that shows the initial install check.

Applicable cfrs are 61.2B1, 61.56C1, 91.327B2, and 43.3A. Recommending a minimum of 44709 reexamination and possibly an eir depending on the pilot?s cooperation.