Simpson AMPHIBEOUS TRIKE/NO N440LS

Summary

On 25 January 2014 at about 23:15 local time, a Simpson AMPHIBEOUS TRIKE/NO registered N440LS was involved in an accident near Chehalis, Washington, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

25 January 2014 at 23:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Chehalis, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Chehalis-Centralia (CLS)

Coordinates

46.6769, -122.9828

Aircraft

Simpson AMPHIBEOUS TRIKE/NO

Registration

N440LS

Year built

2008

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chehalis → Toledo

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR14LA104

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, just after liftoff from the runway, the trike began to pull "hard" to the left. The pilot then looked to the left and saw the left wing flapping. He subsequently performed a modified traffic pattern to return to the runway to land. After turning onto the final leg of the traffic pattern, the trike began to oscillate, but the pilot was able to land the trike. As soon as the trike touched down on the runway, the left wing "grabbed," and the trike flipped over and then came to rest on its left side. The pilot reported that the trike lost the left wing prong after takeoff, and a responding police officer found a piece of the left wing prong near the runway departure point. The loss of the wing prong likely led to the left wing flapping after departure and the pilot's subsequent inability to maintain directional control after landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.