Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB CEN11LA090
SOUTHERLAND FREEBIRD LITESPORT U — Decatur, IL
| Date | December 2, 2010 |
| Location | Decatur, IL |
| Aircraft | SOUTHERLAND FREEBIRD LITESPORT U (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 55 |
| Pilot total time | 61 hrs · Student / very low time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Attain/maintain not possible - C
- Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C
What happened
The pilot was performing a high-speed taxi in his amateur-built airplane when it inadvertently became airborne. The inadvertent flight was the airplane's first flight. The pilot requested a landing clearance and was given one. The pilot reported that he had trouble getting the airplane's nose down. He reported a MAYDAY and indicated that he had no control of the airplane. He was given a clearance to land on any runway. During his last transmission, the pilot reported that he could not keep the nose down. The airplane was observed descending tail-end down and then nose down. The airplane impacted the ground, coming to rest about two miles east of the airport. An on-scene examination of the airplane revealed that the wing separated from the fuselage. The separation was consistent with overload. No other anomalies were detected. The on-scene investigation did not document center of gravity or trim settings.