Trike Fatality

[Guest ozzie]

Reported on Ten news at 5 Reported as an Ultralight

 

Trike taking off at Rutherford YMTD crashed shortly after killing the pilot. No report if there was a PAX but looking at the footage if there was it would be a double fatality. Interviewed eye witness to the accident said that the left wing dropped sharply and then the nose went almost vertical and impacted with the ground. with the accompaning hand movements it looks like the wing stall dropped a wing with the usual results. there was not much altitude. the weather today here has been sunny with a westerly 5 to ten knts at low level.

 

condolenses to those involved

 

Ozzie

 

 

[airborne]

that eye witness report sounds very similar to the eye witness reports from the trike accident at albion park a while back.

 

wonder if a similar pilot error was made or if it was mechanical fault.

 

what type of trike was this one?

 

 

[Air Creation]

..sudden wing drop after takeoff followered by rapid nose pitch downward is a thread of many trike accidents over the past two decades...??? cause! too many similiarities like the Beadman Accident and several others of the past. Flexwings rarely tip stall or drop a wing in my experience unless outside the design flight envelope under high vertical attitudes.... Hope we see some answers soon.

 

Our thoughts are with the family & friends of our lost pilot.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

The accident apparently happened early in the day around 9:30am. the wind was a lot stronger and gusty at that time. around 15/20kts and gradually decreased during the day. i could not make out the type of trike from the footage. Channel nine reported the pilot as experienced. From the witness's report if it was a fixed wing i would take his description as a classic stall wing drop entry into a spin. experienced trike pilots can work on that.

 

 

[Bluey]

Not likely a stall

 

Hi, as a trike pilot, it is unlikely a stalled wingtip that caused this one as trikes will drop a nose before anything else. Being on takeoff in gusty conditions, I'd say it was a gust that caught the pilot out as there should have been plenty of airspeed at the moment of takeoff. Or possibly even a mechanical fault but this is unlikely unless pilot error caused by incorrect wing assembly followed by the pilot not doing a proper preflight. Again, highly unlikely as the wings are designed to be almost fool proof during assembly. You either get it right or it won't go together at all. The only other possibility being the wing tip battens not being tensioned on one side of the wing. This will potentially cause a strong turn in the wing.

 

With all this in mind and the fact that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. I'd go with a wind gust. The wing looks like a 50-56knot cruise streak II probably either a 582 engine or earlier model xt 912. Either way at that speed the pilot had little hope in a nose down impact.

 

My sincerest condolences go out to the family.

 

The incident at Albion park a few years ago was possibly the result of pilot incapacitation soon after take off.

 

Kind Regards: Bluey