Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB LAX08LA050
Air Creation Clipper — Green Valley, AZ
| Date | January 19, 2008 |
| Location | Green Valley, AZ |
| Aircraft | Air Creation Clipper |
| Purpose of flight | Instructional |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Uncontrolled descent Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 60 |
| Pilot total time | 202 hrs · Low time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C
What happened
The flight instructor and his new student pilot departed in the student's experimental weight-shift-control aircraft (trike) for a local area instructional flight on a day with calm winds. No witnesses reported observing the trike after it took off, and the trike's route of flight was not determined. The trike impacted the desert in a nose-down attitude, without disturbing surrounding vegetation. The preimpact integrity of the trike's flight control system was confirmed, with no evidence of incorrect assembly. No evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunction was found with the engine or propeller assembly. No evidence of ethanol or drugs was found in either pilot. Autopsies revealed that both pilots sustained injuries consistent with a rapid-deceleration-type impact. The reason for the trike's departure from controlled flight and uncontrolled descent was not determined.