Incident Details

Wing was initially set up at First Flight Airport on aircraft parking area with cracks and weeds creating line snag potential. After aborted first attempt, pilot reset in grass safety area aiming south to southwest into wind. During setup, the split tip-steer line on the left side went through the riser, unnoticed by pilot during clipping in. Brake lines were clear to pulleys. Pilot successfully kited and took off but immediately drifted left toward vehicles and airport entry road. Pilot initially attributed drift to crosswind and attempted to gain altitude heading west, but continued drifting southeast toward road. Realizing full throttle would not clear trees, pilot performed hard landing on tree-lined roadway between two parked vehicles.

Primary cause: Left tip-steer line went through the riser during wing setup/movement, remaining unnoticed during preflight check when clipping in. This created asymmetric steering input causing uncontrollable left drift. Contributing factor: Squirrely, gusty winds may have complicated situation.

Scraped knees requiring cleaning and bandaging. No medical attention beyond first aid necessary.

Age 49, weight 260 lbs, male, PPG 3 (Advanced) rating, 197 flights and 211 hours over 4 years of experience

3.1 m/s

Moderate Wind (5-9 mph), Gusty with Thermal Activity

Morning flight, gusty winds with thermal activity

Thermal activity present, gusty conditions

Wing was set up at First Flight Airport in Kill Devil Hills, NC on the aircraft parking area. Many cracks in the surface had small, resilient weeds growing through them, creating line snag potential. On first takeoff attempt, it is believed that one or more lines were snagged and prevented the wing from coming up well. Pilot set the wing down and reset in the grass safety area to the west, aiming for a generally south to southwest takeoff heading, into the wind. While the pilot believes they cleared all of their lines while setting up the wing, it is believed that while moving the wing or after clearing the lines that the split tip-steer lines of the charger went through the riser. When the pilot clipped in, they did not notice that the tip steer line on the left side went through the riser. The brake lines were clear to the pulleys. The pilot was able to kite and successfully take off, but immediately drifted to the left toward vehicles and the airport entry road. At the time the winds were squirrely and the pilot believed it was a weird cross wind. They attempted to gain altitude and aim to the west, but continued to drift southeast toward the road. After realizing that going full throttle would not get over the trees, the pilot managed to do a hard landing on the tree-lined roadway, between two parked vehicles, with no damage to any 3rd party property. The frame was gently scraped, one prop tip made contact with the pavement but can be easily sanded, and the pilots knees were scraped. No medical attention, beyond cleaning and bandaging, was necessary. The pilot had 197 flights and 211 hours in flight over about 4 years of experience at the time of the incident.