Evolution Revo | N889HT

The DTSB determines the Probable Cause of this accident to be Pilot Erro, in that the pilot failed to properly assemble the aircraft before flight, and then missed the omision during pre flight exam. The Haul back cable which prevents the wings from folding backwards was found simply unhooked. There was nothing snapped or broken. The Probable Cause of this accident is the Inflight structural failure due to aircraft not being assembled for flight correctly, and lack of proper pre flight inspection by the pilot.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The flight instructor’s failure to ensure the haul back cable was securely connected to the “J”
hook prior to departing on the accident flight, which resulted in the cable becoming
disconnected and the wings folding up during flight.

The DTSBN recommends that all pilot of all aircraft be especially vigilant to preflight aircraft with sufficient scrutiny in order to
find any assembly or unsafe structural problems. The DTSB recommends that pilots be very careful in aircraft that are routinely dis-assembled for transport, then re-assembled for flight. Use extreme care for the inspection of all critical connections and hardware condition.