Pilot crashed during foot dragging practice after coming in too low with idle power and being unable to recover lift
Wrong control input
Maximum — exactly determined
Pilot was practicing foot dragging when he came in at idle power while descending. He attempted to 'ski' with his feet to generate lift while maintaining power, but this created drag instead. The motor couldn't generate enough airspeed to recover, resulting in a crash into a soft field at approximately 10 mph (16 km/h). The pilot was heading into the wind which reduced ground speed. No injuries occurred.
Primary causes: 1) Poor approach technique - came in descending at idle instead of level flight. 2) Unfamiliarity with his own wing after flying 'hotter' wings (Gin Carve, Ozone Freeride 19m, U-Turn Progress) that had more flare authority. 3) Improper footwork - tried to 'ski' which created excessive drag. 4) Insufficient power application during the critical recovery phase.
Not deployed
soft dirt field
Wrong input triggered incident
February 7, 2018
Footlaunch
Ozone
Speedster
24
Wind present (flying into wind)
WoodysGamertag crash analysis from YouTube video uploaded Feb 7, 2018: Pilot was foot dragging on Ozone Speedster 24m. Contributing factors: 1. Unfamiliarity with own wing - had been flying Gin Carve, Ozone Freeride 19m, and U-Turn Progress which are 'hotter' wings with more flare authority 2. Poor approach - came in descending at idle instead of maintaining level flight 6 inches above ground 3. Bad footwork - tried to 'ski' with feet which created drag instead of lift 4. Heading into wind (good decision) - reduced speed to ~10mph 5. Soft field chosen (good decision) Pilot's analysis: Should have either come in level and slowly descended last 6 inches, OR descended at idle then punched full power before attempting foot drag. The transition from descending to level while trying to foot drag didn't work. No injuries, only ego damaged. Video captured by Mark Huneycutt.