Event GAA17CA198

Factual narrative

The noncertificated pilot of a weight-shift controlled trike reported that during the takeoff he was "fighting the wing." He added that the aircraft was about 30 feet above ground, when he "pulled on the control bar," the right wing rose, and the left wing dipped down. The aircraft subsequently impacted the terrain in a left wing down attitude to the left of the runway. The center fuselage spar and wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the aircraft that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot added that the accident flight was his first flight in the unregistered trike. He added that he possessed no pilot certificate and had received no flight training prior to the accident flight. He reported that when he purchased the weight-shift controlled trike, the bill of sale indicated that the aircraft was an "ultralight." According to the trike's operating manual, the aircraft specifications exceeded the maximum takeoff weight, fuel capacity, and seat limitations stated in 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 103 for ultralight aircraft. The noncertificated pilot of the weight-shift-controlled trike reported that, during the takeoff, he was "fighting the wing." He added that the aircraft was about 30 ft above the ground when he "pulled on the control bar," the right wing rose, and the left wing dipped down. The aircraft subsequently impacted terrain in a left-wing-down attitude to the left of the runway. The center fuselage spar and wing sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the aircraft that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot added that the accident flight was his first flight in the unregistered trike and that he had received no flight training before the accident flight. He reported that when he purchased the weight-shift-controlled trike, the bill of sale indicated that the aircraft was an "ultralight." According to the trike's operating manual, the aircraft specifications exceeded the maximum takeoff weight, fuel capacity, and seat limitations stated in 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 103 for ultralight aircraft. 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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Qualification/certification-Pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C