Washington-Wilkes Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rayle, Georgia 30660
Sunday, March 16, 2008 18:00 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The non-certificated pilot was flying an unregistered amateur built Quad City Challenger I in cruise flight when the engine "stopped cold." During the forced landing, the airplane struck a power line, and sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The airplane was equipped with a non-certificated Rotax 503 engine. The pilot inspected the contents of the fuel tank, and found no contamination. He removed the fuel bowls from the engine's dual carburetors and found them to be full of fuel. He was able to rotate the engine by hand and believed the engine stoppage was caused by an ignition failure.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power during cruise flight for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/16/2008
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Rayle
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 30660
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 334723N
Event Location Longitude 0825401W
Event Location Airport Washington-Wilkes
Event Location Nearest Airport ID IIY
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 4.7
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 646
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1759 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 210
Weather Observation Facility ID 3J7
Elevation of weather observation facility 677
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 330
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.12
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23542
NTSB Notification Source ATL FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Mar 24 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2008 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Atlanta FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number NONE
NTSB Number NYC08CA146
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Quad City Ultralight Aircraft
Aircraft Model Challenger I
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0200-CHI-0739
Certified Max Gross Weight 800
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours 6
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name William A Bunch
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Lincolnton
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 30817
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code IIY
Departure City WASHINGTON
Departure State GA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1730
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 21 2008 7:51PM
User who most recently changed record grer
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --