- Date
- May 19, 2020, 16:45 local (21:45 UTC)
- Place
- Lee's Summit, MO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N41LRRhoads, Larry E Sopwith Baby
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20200519006859A
- Case key
- 101310
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The airplane builder's improper installation of the lower right wing which resulted in an uncommanded left roll and the subsequent loss of control.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot departed on the airplane's initial test flight in a tailwheel-equipped biplane. At the speed when the tailwheel lifted from the runway, the airplane began an uncommanded left roll. The pilot attempted to arrest the roll moment but was unsuccessful. He aborted the takeoff but lost control of the airplane as it settled down in a crab. The airplane exited the side of the runway and resulted in the failure of the left landing gear, and subsequent nose over of the airplane. The lower left wing sustained substantial damage. The airplane builder conducted a post-accident examination and reported that the right wing had a different "angle-of-attack" then the other wings, due to a construction error. This difference likely resulted in the uncommanded left roll during takeoff. This rolling tendency was not detected during the previous four high-speed taxi tests..
Aircraft
- Registration
- N41LR
- Reported as
- Rhoads, Larry E Sopwith Baby
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 001
- Built
- 2019
- Engine
- Rotec 3600, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight test · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 31, 2020
- Departed
- LXT · Lee's Summit, MO
- Destination
- LXT · Lee's Summit, MO
- Airport
- LXT · Lee'S Summit Muni, runway 36, 5,501 × 100 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 72
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 12, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,186 total · 0.1 in this make and model · 1,345 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- KLXT
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 24, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.9 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.