| Crash location | 32.566945°N, 97.807500°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect. |
| Nearest city | Weatherford, TX
32.759296°N, 97.797254°W 13.3 miles away |
| Tail number | N616NG |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 13 May 2017 |
| Aircraft type | Pipistrel Doo Ajdovscina Virus Sw |
| Additional details: | None |
On May 13, 2017, about 1820 central standard time, a Pipistrel Virus SW motorized-glider, N616NG, impacted terrain while departing the Driftwood Ranch Airport (XA86), Weatherford, Texas. The pilot and passenger were seriously injured. The motorized-glider was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated without a flight plan. The local flight was departing at the time of the accident.
According to a statement provided by the pilot, he was departing on runway 16, at XA86. After reaching rotation speed, the pilot rotated the motorized-glider and the nosewheel lifted off when a gust of wind from the left, pushed the motorized-glider to the right. The pilot added that he pulled back on the control stick to climb, and simultaneously added left rudder and aileron. As the motorized-glider got airborne, the pilot reported that the airspeed was insufficient, and the motorized-glider entered a stall-spin. After a quarter turn, the motorized-glider impacted terrain. The collision resulted in substantial damage to the glider's fuselage and wings.
At 1815, an automated weather reporting facility located 7 nautical miles south of the accident site recorded a wind from 160 degrees at 4 knots.
The pilot's failure to obtain adequate airspeed during takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin.