Just Aircraft cofounder Troy Woodland and a passenger were unhurt in a serious crash of Woodland’s SuperSTOL demonstrator after an apparent engine failure over hilly terrain near the company’s factory in Walhalla, South Carolina.
Woodland attempted to land the airplane on a newly built residential street where homes have yet to be constructed, but the rugged terrain made it impossible to put the SuperSTOL down in one piece despite it’s remarkable short takeoff and landing capabilities, which allow it to touch down in as little as 100 feet.
Photos of the crash scene show the badly damaged green and silver SuperSTOL with its wings bent, fuselage twisted, propeller gone and Plexiglas windows broken. Built by Woodland in 2014, it is the same airplane flown for Flying‘s May 2014 SuperSTOL pilot report.
“These things happen, it wasn’t a major deal,” Woodland told the local Independent Mail. “Everyone was OK and walked away.”
The crash, which occurred on Sunday, was the second serious accident involving company personnel this year after Just Aircraft’s other cofounder, Gary Schmitt, and a customer were injured after crashing in a Just Aircraft Highlander during an aborted landing on the grass runway in front of the factory in March.
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