RADLEY VINCENT QUICKSILVER SPORT 2S — Cleveland, GA, 2024

RADLEY VINCENT QUICKSILVER SPORT 2S — Cleveland, GA

1 fatal

Date	May 20, 2024
Location	Cleveland, GA
Aircraft	RADLEY VINCENT QUICKSILVER SPORT 2S (amateur-built)
Purpose of flight	Flight Test
Conditions	Day · Visual Meteorological Cond
Phase / occurrence	Takeoff Aerodynamic stall/spin
Pilot age	79
Pilot total time	906 hrs · Building experience
Time in type	0 hrs
Fatalities	1

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during the takeoff and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin at low altitude. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of experience in the accident airplane make and model.

NTSB findings

Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Capability exceeded
Personnel issues-Experience/knowledge-Experience/qualifications-Total experience w/ equipment-Pilot

What happened

The owner of the experimental amateur-built airplane transported it via ground to the sport pilot/light sport aircraft repairman’s facility at a grass airstrip, so that an annual condition inspection could be completed. Although the sport pilot/repairman had performed maintenance work on the airplane make and model, he had never flown one. After the sport pilot completed the inspection, he attempted a post-maintenance flight. Airport security video revealed that immediately after liftoff, the airplane turned left about 90°. The engine noise decreased, and the airplane appeared to momentarily come under control; however, it was flying toward the front of a hangar. The engine nose increased again, and the airplane cleared the hangar, but as it climbed in a left turn it encountered an aerodynamic stall, spun to the left, and impacted the ground. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions of the airframe or engine.

The airplane owner described that due to the short tail, the airplane lacked rudder effectiveness at slow airspeeds and was subject to left turning tendencies (p-factor). After viewing the video, the airplane owner further stated that it appeared the sport pilot rotated too early and over-rotated, resulting in the loss of control to the left.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.