- Date
- July 20, 2024, 19:00 local (Jul 21, 2024, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Rochelle, IL · Field near off runway 25
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N798EEEvolution Revolt
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern crosswind: Collision during takeoff/land
- 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 Greater Chicago FSDO
- FAA report
- 20240720014409A
- Case key
- 194749
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 pilot’s failure to maintain terrain clearance during a low-level turn, that resulted in an impact with the ground.
Findings · 4
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 reported that he was attempting to maneuver the weight-shift aircraft to avoid an incoming aircraft that was going to land at the airport. The pilot turned the aircraft “way too low” for a right crosswind, and during the turn, the wing contacted the ground, and the aircraft “tumbled.” The aircraft came to rest upright in a field populated with crops and the pilot was assisted by witnesses with evacuating from the aircraft. The pilot classified the accident as “pilot error.” The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the wing and the fuselage. The pilot, who sustained serious injuries and was wearing a flight helmet, reported that he utilized only a lap belt, when a three-point restraint system was available in the cockpit. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N798EE
- Reported as
- Evolution Revolt (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Weight-shift
- Serial number
- 001035
- Built
- 2022
- Airframe hours
- 136
- Engine
- Rotax Aircraft Engines 912ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Rceert LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 2, 2024 · 4 hours before
- Airport
- RPJ · Rochelle Muni/Koritz Fld, runway 07/25, 5,001 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Airframe parachute, Electronic multifunction display
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 75
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Last flight review
- June 16, 2022
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 294.1 total · 140 in this make and model · 280 as pilot in command · 8.2 in the last 90 days · 5.2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- KRPJ, 1 nm away
- METAR
- KRPJ 202355Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 24/14 A3011 RMK AO2 T02350144 10248 20231
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 12, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.8 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.