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Pilot Details

Age: Weight: Gender: Highest rating held at the time of the incident: Pilot experience level:

Gear Details

Wing Brand: Model: Appco Prima 33 Size: Paramotor Frame: 4 stroke with

Incident Details

June 22, 2013 Location of the incident: , Type of Incident:

First flight on a new trike/quad and wing. Take off was perfect going straight into a 6mph wind. I noticed that I was lifting a little slow but I just thought it was because of the weight of me and the new unit. At about 120 feet she leveled out and would not gain any more altitude. I looked at my throttle because I thought maybe the brake handle got in between the lever and my hand, but all was fine. She was at full power trying to climb but the wing had stalled. When I let go of the little bit of brakes I had (take off mode), thinking maybe I would get a little lift out of her, she turned left and started descending fast, I was now at about 70 feet AGL. I pulled a little right brake and she leveled off, and turned slightly back into the wind, but would not climb. As soon as I let off the right brake she turned left and started going down. I was now at about 40 foot and had a slight cross wind. She was going about 20 mph I wanted to try to turn back into the wind but just didn’t want to chance loosing to much altitude. So I decided to focus on the wing and keep her steady on my current heading. At about 20 foot AGL I tried to pull both brakes just a little to slow her down, in preparation for landing, and that is when she just “fell out of the sky”… She fell straight down on all four wheels, then sprung back up into the air about eight feet, then came down nose first and snapped the left front axel and bent the right one. She bounced back up and went end over end and snapped the back left axel. when this happened it slammed the cage in the ground and bent a cage ring which in turn busted the prop. She then rolled sideways twice and came to rest upside down. I got out of the seat restraints and then turned her right side up because gas was leaking from the gas cap/vent. While folding up the wing I noticed that a “C” an “D” line had got cut, both on the left side of the wing. After getting everything back to the shop I first started looking for motor problems because I thought loss of power may have caused the wing to stall. After that I remembered the wing pulling left, which it should have not done. After inspecting the wing, studying photos and talking to several other pilots I/we determined that the brake lines were not adjusted properly for a trike/quad, I sent my wing in for inspection and this was confirmed. Total damage was, 2 axels, a bent foot (ground)steering system, 2 cage rings, a cage support and the prop. Luckily the main cage/roll bars of the trike did its job and didn’t have a dent on it. In addition the whole thing flexed and absorbed the shock of the impact really well. All in all the machine did what it was designed to do and I walked away with out a scratch. I was VERY fortunate. In pre-flight inspection I inspected the wing lines and while kiting it they all looked good. Problem is I never realized they should have been longer for trike use. This was a rookie mistake and an expensive lesson to learn. I hope others who fly a trike/quad will learn from this and double check their brake lines.

Flight Window: Wind Speed: Type: Phase of Flight: Type of Injury: Collateral Damage: Analysis of the incident (additional input by the incident investigation team): Photos (if available):

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