Event CEN12LA448

Factual narrative

On July 17, 2012, about 0930 eastern daylight time, an experimental kit-built trike airplane, N404EA, collided with terrain near the Sunset Strip Airport (OH07), Marlboro, Ohio. The solo student pilot was seriously injured. The airplane’s wing and fuselage were substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that operated without a flight plan. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident. According to the responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors, the airplane had performed several high speed taxis and then departed OH07. A witness interviewed by the FAA reported that when the airplane about 50 to 100 feet above the ground, the airplane turned left, pitched up to a steep nose high attitude, the right wing dropped, and the airplane descended to the ground. An examination of the wreckage conducted by the FAA did not detect any preimpact anomalies. The student pilot did not maintain a logbook and his flight experience could not be determined. Additionally the amount, if any, of flight instruction the student pilot had received was not determined. However, FAA records revealed that the student pilot had been issued a student pilot certificate on June 5, 2012. The student pilot had not submitted a NTSB Form 6120 prior to the completion of this report. After takeoff, witnesses saw the trike airplane turn left and pitch up to a steep nose-high attitude before the right wing dropped and the airplane descended to the ground. The descriptions of the accident were consistent with an aerodynamic stall. An examination of the wreckage did not detect any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The student pilot did not have a logbook, and, in a postaccident interview, he revealed that he had little experience and flight time in the airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Task performance-(general)-(general)-Pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C