An undetected pitch trim setting resulted in the pilot attempting to takeoff with close to full nose down elevator trim. The pilot rejected the takeoff, whereupon the aircraft briefly became airborne, but the pilot was unable to effectively control the aircraft in pitch. The aircraft bounced several times causing the aircraft’s nosewheel to fail and the aircraft to slew off the runway. The remains of the aircraft’s nose landing gear dug into the soft ground and N761JU came to rest inverted. The pilot suffered only minor injuries while his more securely restrained passenger sustained major injuries which he succumbed to several days later.

The investigation detected an intermittent fault with the autopilot system which might have contributed to the elevator trim moving towards the nose dow

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