Solo Wings WINDLASS AQUILLA accident near Starke, FL
On April 23, 2011, a Solo Wings WINDLASS AQUILLA was involved in an accident near Starke, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- April 23, 2011
- Place
- Starke, FL
- Aircraft
- Solo Wings WINDLASS AQUILLA · WSFT
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 30.024°N, 82.184°W
- NTSB ID
- 20110425X92436
Official records · ERA11LA263
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On April 23, 2011, about 1000 eastern daylight time, a Solo Wings Windlass Aquilla experimental-light sport aircraft (E-LSA), N94370, operated by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain, in Starke, Florida. The certificated private pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight that was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, on February 17, 2011, the pilot purchased the foreign manufactured weight-shift-control aircraft, which was equipped with a Rotax 503, 50-horsepower engine. The aircraft was issued an FAA special airworthiness certificate on January 17, 2007. The pilot's wife reported that the pilot, who had not previously flown the aircraft, departed their residence about 0600, with the intention of practicing high-speed taxing at their private airstrip, located at secondary residence. When the pilot did not return home the following day as planned, she traveled to the airstrip, and discovered that the aircraft had crashed in a field adjacent to the runway. The accident site was found about 2030, on April 24, 2011. According to an FAA inspector, the grass airstrip was about 1,950-feet-long, 50-feet-wide, and oriented on a west-northwest/east-southeast heading. The first two-thirds of east runway contained mostly trees on both sides of the runway. The last one-third of the runway contained a tree line about 500 feet from the north side, and an open field to the south side of
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of airplane control while taxiing, which resulted in the weight-shift-controlled airplane becoming inadvertently airborne and subsequently impacting the ground. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the make and model of the accident airplane.
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Browse: Florida
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
