Airborne Windsports EDGE XT-912-L N490F

Summary

On 29 May 2022 at about 13:00 local time, a Airborne Windsports EDGE XT-912-L registered N490F was involved in an accident near Granite Shoals, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 May 2022 at 13:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Granite Shoals, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Granite Shoals/Bob Sylvester A (2G5)

Coordinates

30.5920, -98.3680

Aircraft

Airborne Windsports EDGE XT-912-L

Registration

N490F

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR22FA189

2 people died.

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.