Pilot experienced engine failure during flight, attempted 3 restarts before giving up and making emergency landing. Also had partial left wing collapse on takeoff, hit foot on parking area bar, and skimmed trees before gaining altitude. Landing damaged propeller guard and destroyed propellers.
Hardware failure
High — very likely identified
During flight, the motor died for unknown reasons. Pilot attempted to restart the engine 3 times - it restarted but died again after a few seconds each time. After the third attempt, he gave up and focused on finding a landing spot. Made an emergency landing which bent the propeller guard and destroyed the propellers. His smartwatch detected the crash impact and nearly called 911.
Engine failure of unknown cause. The takeoff incident was caused by partial wing collapse and insufficient takeoff area.
Not deployed
Mostly correct inputs while reacting
February 11, 2025
Footlaunch
Jonathan Dutton
Nice Flight (up until the end). My motor died for an unknown reason. I restarted the engine, but it died again after a few seconds. I made a 3rd attempt and then gave up on that to just find a place to land. The take-off was also a close call. I see in the video where I had a partial wing collapse on my left side. It did reinflate, but the area is a bit small and that lost me some ground. I actually hit my right foot on the bar at the edge of the parking area and then skimmed the trees with just a couple of feet to spare before gaining altitude. The alarm at 6:09 is my pixel watch saying it detected a crash and should it call 911 (I had to cancell the alarm to keep it from making the call). Watching the video back I see where I could have taken a better line to get to the road for the landing, but it all happened pretty fast. I ended up bending the propeller guard (which I have managed to straighten out), and I destroyed the propellers that were mounted to the engine. I do have an extra set though so I'll be in the air as soon as I get my motor looked at and fixed. Enjoy!