Bailey-Moyes Dragonfly

Full Narrative

On April 19, 2024, about 1330 eastern daylight time, an unregistered experimental, amateur-built Bailey-Moyes Dragonfly airplane was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Sheets Airport (FA42), Groveland, Florida. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
According to witnesses, the airplane departed to the south, climbed to about 200 to 300 ft above ground level, and then turned east. Shortly thereafter, the right wing “folded upward,” and the airplane entered a spiral descent before impacting terrain about 500 ft east of the departure end of the north-south landing area.
An FAA inspector examined the wreckage and reported that the right lower wing strut block bolt had been threaded through the fuselage bulkhead and tightened, but did not pass through the hole in the wing strut block, resulting in no connection between the wing strut and the fuselage. The bolt and the wing strut block exhibited no damage (see Figure 1)._

Figure 1. Fuselage connection point with bolt installation as found (Source: FAA)
The accident flight was the airplane’s first flight since it was assembled by the pilot. Inspection of the hangar where the airplane was assembled revealed that no assembly checklist or assembly manual was present in the work area. The airplane did not have a data plate installed and had not been inspected by a Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR) or an FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) inspector. No airworthiness certificate or operating limitations had been issued for the airplane.