NTSB Factual Report

On December 18, 2004, at approximately 1245 Pacific standard time, a Breit, Zodiac CH-601-HDS, amateur-built, experimental, N826JB, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain following loss of control in the air during departure from Paine Field, Everett, Washington. The private pilot, the sole occupant in the airplane, received minor injuries. The flight was being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local, personal flight, that originated at approximately 1230 from Paine Field. The pilot had not filed a flight plan.

The pilot said he was performing a touch-and-go landing on runway 34L. He said that the tower controller had alerted him to the departure of a Boeing 777, and that he had at least 3 minutes separation. The pilot said that the landing was uneventful, but almost immediately after lifting off, his airplane rolled to the right and its right wing contacted the runway. The airplane came to rest on taxiway A-5. The right wing was bent and wrinkled; the nose wheel landing gear and the left main landing gear were broken; the engine mounts, firewall, lower longerons and forward fuselage were crushed and/or bent.

The wind at Paine Field, at 1253, was 280 degrees for 4 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control immediately after takeoff. A factor was the wake turbulence from the preceding airplane.