| Crash location | 39.614722°N, 77.047777°W |
| Nearest city | Westminster, MD
39.575379°N, 76.995815°W 3.9 miles away |
| Tail number | N105SE |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 18 Aug 2018 |
| Aircraft type | QUICKSILVER MXL II Sport |
| Additional details: | None |
On August 18, 2018, about 1040 eastern daylight time, a Quicksilver MXLII Sport, N105SE, experienced an in-flight loss of control and descended uncontrolled into a farm field located near Baugher's Orchard Airport (07MD), Westminster, Maryland. The private pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. The privately owned and operated airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was being operated under the provisions of title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal, local flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from 07MD about 15 to 20 minutes earlier.
The manager of 07MD reported that the accident pilot flew into the airport solo on the morning of the accident, arriving about 0930. While at 07MD, the passenger wanted to go for a ride, and the pilot who was going to fly locally, agreed to take him. The passenger obtained goggles from the manager for the intended flight. The flight departed and flew around locally. After about 15 to 20 minutes, the pilot returned for a landing to the south (usual because of upsloping runway), but because an airplane was departing to the north (usual because of downsloping runway), the accident pilot orbited to return.
While north of 07MD and flying in a southerly direction, between 100 and 200 feet above ground level, witnesses reported hearing a crack sound, followed by seeing either the left or right wings collapsed, or upward folding. The airplane then descended steeply and impacted the ground. The airplane's ballistic parachute system was only partially deployed. Sections of the fractured leading and trailing edge spars of the left wing, fractured trailing edge spar sections of the right wing, fractured bolt that attaches the lower and upper wing cables to the outboard section of the right leading edge spar, and fractured left aft tri-bar downtube fork with separated piece were retained for examination by the NTSB Materials Laboratory. The airframe parachute system was also retained for examination at the manufacturer's facility.