Airborne Windsports Pty Ltd EDGE X CLASSIC N701FP accident near Rush City, Minnesota

Probable cause

The student pilot's failure to maintain the appropriate pitch attitude during initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the student pilot’s decision to conduct a solo flight without a solo endorsement in an aircraft in which he had no experience flying.

NTSB analysis

The student pilot was conducting a solo personal flight in the weight-shift-control aircraft. Video footage showed the airplane taking off, climbing to an estimated altitude of 300 to 400 ft, banking sharply left, descending, and then impacting terrain in a steep, nose-down attitude.

The student did not have any solo endorsements on his student pilot certificate. The student had logged 14 hours in a different weight-shift-control aircraft but had never flown the accident aircraft type. The student's flight instructor said that he did not feel the student was ready to fly solo and that he had not endorsed him for solo flight. He further stated that the student mismanaged takeoffs and landings and had the tendency to "leave the [control] bar out" after takeoff instead of letting it come back, which increased the aircraft's pitch attitude and caused it to climb too steeply. It is likely that the student increased the aircraft's pitch attitude too much during the initial climb, which led to his loss of aircraft control and an aerodynamic stall.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN16LA175 for the full record.