WPR14LA285

The pilot reported that, about 15 minutes after departure, he was maneuvering the experimental, light sport airplane to the destination airport. After he initiated a right turn, the airplane assumed a nose-low attitude with the right wing low. The pilot felt no feedback pressure on the control stick and determined that there was a flight control malfunction. The airplane continued to descend, so the pilot activated the onboard ballistic emergency parachute when the airplane was about 100 ft above the trees. The airplane subsequently collided with the trees and then came to rest inverted about 0.4 nautical mile from the airport. Three years previously, the airplane had been involved in an accident with a different pilot, and the probable cause of that accident was the pilot's improper recovery from a dive that led to a loss of in-flight control. Following the accident, that pilot reported that he was aware that the airplane had a tendency to pitch down and accelerate when not monitored and controlled continuously. He stated that, although the control stick would move freely during a maneuver, he was unable to correct the flightpath with the elevator, which was consistent with this accident pilot's statement. According to two other pilots who encountered delayed controllability while operating the accident make and model airplane, adding engine power corrected the problem. The airplane was disassembled for recovery purposes, which prevented investigators from determining its configuration before the accident. The examination of the disassembled flight control system revealed no evidence of any preimpact failures or malfunctions that would have affected normal operation of the flight controls. Further, because the pilot activated the parachute system, it could not be determined whether the flight control condition was temporary.

On July 7, 2014, about 2020 Pacific daylight time, an experimental light-sport Bailey-Moyes Microlights Dragonfly B airplane, N7008Z, impacted trees after the pilot activated the onboard parachute near Flying H Ranch Airport, Buckley, Washington. Private individuals owned and operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The private pilot sustained minor injuries; the airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot departed Burnett Landing Airport, Wilkeson, Washington about 2000 for a local personal flight.The pilot reported that about 15 minutes after departure, he was maneuvering the airplane to the west of Flying H Ranch Airport. While maneuvering at an airspeed of about 33-34 mph, he initiated a right turn. The airplane then assumed a nose-low attitude with the right wing low. The pilot felt no feedback pressure on the control stick and determined that there was a flight control malfunction. The descent continued so he activated the onboard BRS emergency parachute when the airplane was about 100 feet above the trees. The airplane subsequently collided with the trees and came to rest inverted about .4 nautical miles from the airport. The airplane was involved in an accident in December 2010 (WPR11CA079), where the probable cause was attributed to the pilot's improper recovery from a dive that led to a loss of in-flight control; the pilot was not the accident pilot or current owner. Following the accident, that pilot reported that he was aware that the airplane had a tendency to pitch down and accelerate when not monitored and controlled continuously. He stated that during a maneuver, although the control stick would move freely, he was unable to correct the flight path with the elevator and deployed the BRS parachute system. According to two other Dragonfly pilots, they have been in similar situations of temporarily encountering a control delay, all of which were easily rectified by adding engine power to get more airflow over the elevator. The airplane was disassembled for recovery purposes which prohibited investigators from determining the configuration prior to the accident. The examination of the disassembled flight control system revealed no evidence of any pre impact failures or malfunctions which would have affected normal operation of the flight controls. According to maintenance records the airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on June 30, 2014, or 6 days prior to the accident. At the time of the inspection, the airplane had accrued 449.7 total hours of operation and, according to that Hobbs meter, had acquired 5.4 hours since then. The pilot reported that he had amassed a total flight time of 700 hours, of which 5.8 hours were accrued in a Dragonfly. He had flown 1.1 hours in the last 30 days and all of the 5.8 hours were accumulated in the past 90 days.