Airborne Windsports Edge X

Full Narrative

On February 2, 2019, about 1625 eastern standard time, an Airborne Windsports Edge X weight-shift-control aircraft, N123NY, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Jumbolair Airport (17FL), Ocala, Florida. The noncertificated pilot was fatally injured. The aircraft was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.A friend of the pilot stated, during a postaccident interview, that he was driving away from the airport when he saw the aircraft take off and climb to about 100 to 125 ft above ground level. The aircraft then veered left and right, briefly flew straight, and seemed "to be pushed" to the right. Afterward, the aircraft's nose dropped, and the aircraft impacted the ground in a nose-low attitude. The pilot's friend reported that the engine "never missed a lick." During a separate postaccident interview, the pilot's friend also described that the engine was at full power during the climbout and that the wings were "wagging" before the aircraft crashed.

The pilot's friend stated that he had been flying with the accident pilot since 2001and had made about 25 to 30 flights with him, during which he rode in the back seat. The pilot's friend estimated that the pilot had about 40 to 50 hours of total flight experience in weight-shift-control aircraft.

According to a friend of the witness to the accident, his friend had been providing the pilot with flight instruction for about 1 year, and the accident flight was the pilot's first solo flight. The friend of the witness showed a video from his friend's social media account depicting the aircraft taxiing to the runway and a verbal statement indicating that the pilot was making his "first solo and he was probably nervous right about now."

A search of FAA airman records revealed that the pilot did not hold a student pilot. The friend of the pilot also did not possess a pilot or flight instructor certificate.

A postaccident examination revealed that the aircraft impacted the ground about 300 ft west of runway 36 on a magnetic heading of 330°. The fuselage was on its side with the nose crushed up to the engine area. The right wing was broken midspan, and the left wing was intact. Examination of the engine and fuel system revealed no preaccident discrepancies that would have precluded normal operation. The aircraft was equipped with a whole-airframe ballistic parachute system, which was found partially deployed.

The State of Florida Medical Examiner, Leesburg, Florida, performed an autopsy of the pilot. His cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. Toxicology testing performed at the Federal Aviation Administration Forensic Sciences Laboratory identified two potentially impairing drugs (diphenhydramine topiramate) in the samples submitted for testing; however, the level of both drugs in the samples was too low to be quantified. The testing was negative for carbon monoxide and ethanol.