Amateur-built RAI 6 N251CW accident near Williston, Florida

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain the airplane’s pitch control during rotation and his subsequent loss of directional control.

NTSB analysis

The pilot, who was on the controls in the high-performance, experimental, amateur-built airplane, reported that he and a check pilot, who was familiar with the airplane and required by the insurance company, were taking off from a grass airstrip for a planned cross-country flight.

According to the check pilot, before takeoff, he advised the pilot to "begin his rotation to takeoff attitude a few knots before the normal takeoff speed of approximately 65 knots and then let the airplane lift off smoothly when it was ready to fly."

During the takeoff roll, the pilot initiated the "rotation" as instructed, but the nose pitched up too high, and the airplane drifted to the left side of the runway. The airplane exited the left side of the runway, struck the ground, and came to rest upright facing the opposite direction of the takeoff. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right-wing spar and the lower part of the composite fuselage.

The pilots reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA17CA350 for the full record.