J&J Ultralights Sea Wing

Full Narrative

The student pilot of the amateur built SeaWing weight-shift control aircraft was in his first day of solo flight training. He successfully completed "a few" solo takeoffs and landings when the winds increased, which prompted him to switch to a field adjacent to the one he was using. On short final, the aircraft drifted towards trees to the right of the nominal approach path. The pilot initiated a go-around, and applied control inputs that were intended to correct the flight path to the left. The pilot's control inputs caused the aircraft to turn right, and it collided with the trees. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the aircraft, and serious injuries to the pilot. The pilot had approximately 700 hours in airplanes, and was learning to fly the accident aircraft. The pitch and directional control inputs for a weight-shift aircraft were opposite those required for an airplane. The flight instructor and student were cognizant of the potential for problems caused by the difference in required control inputs, but neither observed any tendency of the student to make incorrect inputs on any previous flights. The pilot stated that on the accident approach, he reverted to his original training, which was correct for a conventional airplane, but incorrect for the accident aircraft.