CHI02LA062 · Wolter Avid Flyer

The amateur built, experimental airplane sustained substantial damage when it departed controlled flight from about 150 feet agl and impacted the terrain. A witness, who was a certified flight instructor, reported the pilot had been practicing taxiing the airplane. He did not think the pilot intended to takeoff. He reported the pilot was taxiing on runway 34 when the wind caught the left wing of the airplane and it lifted off the runway. The airplane turned sharply to the right and headed to the southeast. The airplane had difficulty climbing, but it cleared the trees. Then the airplane turned into the wind and climbed to approximately 125 -150 feet agl. The airplane was making very little forward progress and that it "hovered" for approximately 15 - 20 seconds. The airplane then turned downwind. The witness reported the airplane stalled and "pancaked" into the ground. The airplane wreckage came to rest about 175 feet from the initial point of impact. The witness reported the surface winds were about 12-15 knots out of the west, and the wind above the trees was about 40 knots out of the northwest. The pilot of the airplane did not hold a pilot's certificate or student pilot certificate. The pilot had applied for a FAA Third Class Medical Certificate but was denied. A witness reported the pilot had received about 20-25 hours of dual flight instruction in a Cessna 172. The pilot had not received any flight training in a tailwheel airplane. The experimental airplane's original FAA registered "N" number was N4047M. The pilot had purchased the airplane about one month prior to the accident. At the time of the accident, the airplane was found with the original N number painted over, and the number E 008DH was painted on the side of the airplane.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset