Airborne Windsports Pty Ltd EDGE XT-912-L N490F accident near Granite Shoals, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain proper airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall while landing with a gusting wind.

NTSB analysis

The pilot and passenger were on a local personal flight. Witnesses stated that they saw the weight-shift-control trike flying in the area for about 20-30 minutes before the accident. A witness on the south end of the airport saw the trike flying in the area as it made several passes over the airpark. He did not witness the accident but recalled the wind condition to be “super windy.” Another witness stated that the wind condition was “swift” with gusts at the time of the accident. The trike impacted a tree and the ground near the approach end of the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the wing and carriage.

The weather observations taken 25 minutes before the accident showed southerly winds at velocities of 4 to 11 knots with increasing velocities and gusts to 21 knots.

Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Based on this information, it is likely that the accident pilot allowed the airplane to exceed its critical angle of attack while on final approach and the trike entered an aerodynamic stall at too low an altitude to successfully recover. The strong, gusting wind conditions increased the likelihood of a sudden increase in angle of attack as the pilot approached the runway at a slow speed, already operating near the trike’s critical angle of attack.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR22FA189 for the full record.