NTSB Factual Report

On July 9, 2018, about 1845 central daylight time, an experimental light sport Northwing 17-M, N959RR, was substantially damaged when it collided with trees and impacted the ground while landing at the pilot's private residence near Section, Alabama. The private pilot was fatally injured. The weight-shift-control trike was operated by the pilot as a personal flight and was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that departed at 1830.

A witness reported that the pilot took off in the from the his private grass runway and flew west, then turned back towards the property for landing. During the attempted landing, at touchdown, the trike appeared to bounce several times and skipped along the runway; the trike then made a right turn and struck a tree before rolling over and impacting terrain.

The tandem, two passenger, weight-shift-control trike was manufactured in 2005 and was equipped with a Rotax 503, 50 horsepower 2 cycle engine.

The pilot held a private pilot certificate, with a rating for airplane single-engine land. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate was issued in June 2000.

An FAA inspector conducted a post-accident examination of the trike that revealed the fuselage and wings were damaged during impact. There were ground scars immediately adjacent to the wreckage and tree branches spread around the vicinity. In addition, there was tall grass wrapped around the landing gear wheels and tire marks leading off the runway into the unmowed grass bordering the grass runway

The trike was retained for further examination.