--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/local.py 1970-01-01 00:00:01.000000000 +0000
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/local.py  2018-10-25 11:19:32.820130379 +0000
@@ -65,10 +65,6 @@
 
         executable = C.DEFAULT_EXECUTABLE.split()[0] if C.DEFAULT_EXECUTABLE else None
 
-        if not os.path.exists(to_bytes(executable, errors='surrogate_or_strict')):
-            raise AnsibleError("failed to find the executable specified %s."
-                               " Please verify if the executable exists and re-try." % executable)
-
         display.vvv(u"EXEC {0}".format(to_text(cmd)), host=self._play_context.remote_addr)
         display.debug("opening command with Popen()")