North Wing FREEDOM accident near Green Township, NJ
On August 6, 2017, a North Wing FREEDOM was involved in an accident near Green Township, NJ. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 6, 2017
- Place
- Green Township, NJ
- Aircraft
- North Wing FREEDOM · WSFT
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 40.965°N, 74.783°W
- NTSB ID
- 20170806X15512
Official records · ERA17FA265
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 6, 2017, about 1025 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built North Wing Freedom weight-shift controlled aircraft, N2854L, was substantially damaged during an attempted departure from Trinca Airport (13N), Green Township, New Jersey. The noncertificated pilot was fatally injured. The aircraft was owned by the pilot who was operating it as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. According to his son, the pilot custom-built the airframe himself. He purchased the wing from its manufacturer. On the day of the accident, the pilot transported the aircraft by trailer to 13N, where he met his son; the pilot planned to fly the aircraft for the first time. The pilot had previously received some flight instruction and conducted a solo flight in other similar aircraft. The pilot's son recalled that, while preparing the aircraft for flight (which included opening the foldable wing), the pilot had some difficulty with one of the cables that ran down the center of the wing (the crossbar restraint cable). The pilot's son stated that the pilot had difficulty pulling the cable in place and had to use a separate cargo type "ratchet strap" as a tool to apply enough tension to the cable. The pilot's son stated that the pilot performed two ground test runs on the turf runway and then took off. After takeoff, the aircraft drifted slightly to the left, corrected toward the right "too much," and then drifted to the l
Probable cause
The pilot's improper preflight setup of the aircraft's foldable wing, during which he incorrectly attached a nylon strap loop pull handle, instead of the steel cable shackle at the end of the strap, to its mounting hook. The nylon strap failed in flight, resulting in a partial collapse of the wing and the aircraft's descent and impact with terrain.
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Browse: New Jersey
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
