NTSB Identification: ERA12FA006
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, October 05, 2011 in Hedgesville, WV
Aircraft: Harry L. Weber Arion LI, registration: N747HW
Injuries: 1 Fatal.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On October 5, 2011, about 1739 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Weber Arion LI, N747HW, was substantially damaged when it impacted a house near Hedgesville, West Virginia. The airplane had departed from the Green Landings Airport (WV22), Hedgesville, West Virginia, just prior to the accident. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. The Airline Transport pilot was killed. The personal local flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

According to several eyewitnesses, the pilot had been assembling the airplane since January 2011. The first flight in the airplane had taken place on October 3, 2011, and the pilot was attempting to acquire the 40 flight hours required in order to fly the airplane to his residence in Danbury, Connecticut. Several of those witnesses reported that shortly after takeoff, approximately 15 feet above ground level; the airplane pitched up to a 45 to 60 degree nose up attitude and then appeared to have stalled just prior to impacting the house.

The airplane impacted the home in a nose down attitude and fractured into two pieces. Continuity was confirmed to all flight control surfaces from the control column and the rudder pedals. The engine remained attached to the firewall and the wood propeller blades were impacted separated. The left wing fuel tank was full of fuel and the right wing fuel tank had approximately 1 inch in depth of fuel.

The Dynon Avionics SV-D1000 and the Garmin 696 GPS were retained for download at the National Transportation Safety Board's Recorders Laboratory.

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