Air Creation Clipper N614LF accident near Green Valley, Arizona

Probable cause

An in-flight loss of control and an uncontrolled descent into terrain for undetermined reasons.

NTSB analysis

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.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for LAX08LA050 for the full record.