ERA19LA132

The pilot departed in his recently purchased weight-shift control aircraft. He reported that he had experienced controllability issues on the previous flight and had “switched some rigging around” before the accident flight. A camera mounted on the pilot’s helmet captured the 15-minute accident flight. The pilot made several low passes before landing, and after touching down on the runway, the video shoed the pilot moving the control bar fully forward and left; the aircraft responded to these inputs and veered to the right. The aircraft subsequently impacted trees and was substantially damaged; the pilot was seriously injured. Before the accident, the pilot was told by the aircraft’s previous owner that weight-shift control aircraft, specifically with the sport wing installed (as on the accident aircraft), were difficult to control and that he should obtain additional flight instruction. The pilot did not hold the necessary pilot certificate rating, nor did he have any logbook endorsements that would have allowed him to operate the weight-shift control aircraft. Additionally, his logbook showed that he had accumulated 5 total hours of flight experience in weight-shift control aircraft, all nearly 10 years before the accident. No records were available to show that he had received any flight instruction in the accident aircraft. Given that the aircraft was controllable during the flight leading up to the accident, it is unlikely that the loss of control was the result of mis-rigging; however, it is likely that the pilot’s lack of experience in weight-shift control aircraft, and decision to operate the aircraft without appropriate training contributed to his loss of control.

On March 20, 2019, about 1508 eastern daylight time, an Apollo Monsoon weight-shift control aircraft, N156AP, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Sharpsburg, Georgia. The private pilot was seriously injured. The flight was conducted as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot recently bought the aircraft and had it disassembled and shipped from Oregon to Georgia, where he installed the wing himself. Several days before the accident, he reported having difficulty controlling the aircraft. He stated to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that he had initially mis-rigged the sport wing, and shortly before the accident flight, he “switched some rigging around.” The accident flight was a short flight from where he was storing the aircraft to his home strip. The FAA inspector viewed a 15-minute video of the accident flight that was captured by a GoPro camera mounted on the pilot’s helmet. The video showed the pilot depart and make several low passes over the strip. After touching down on the runway, the pilot pushed the control bar fully left and forward. The aircraft veered to the right and impacted trees. The FAA inspector traveled to the site and examined the aircraft where it came to rest on its side against trees to the right of the runway. The fuselage was heavily damaged and remained attached to the wing. The wing was intact with damage to the wingtips. The engine separated from the fuselage. The previous owner stated that the pilot had 12 flight hours in weight-shift control aircraft and urged him to get more flight instruction because they were “difficult to learn, because all of the controls are reversed.” He also stated that the aircraft was equipped with a high-performance Cheval wing, and was “less forgiving.” He suggested to the pilot that he should find “a local expert” to reassemble the wing in Georgia. The pilot’s most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued August 31, 2017. He reported 250 total hours of flight experience on that date. He held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land, but did not hold a pilot certificate rating or any logbook endorsements to operate a weight-shift control aircraft. The pilot’s logbook contained an entry documenting 5 flight hours and 3 landings in weight-shift control aircraft in 2010. The only entry in the aircraft’s maintenance logbook was from the engine installation in 2009.