Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Ransom Township, Pennsylvania 18653
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 18:05 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The non-certificated pilot/owner of the airplane was conducting his first flight in the airplane since he purchased it almost 2 years earlier. Witnesses observed the airplane flying erratically as it maneuvered around several fields that surrounded the accident site. They reported hearing varying sounds associated with low and high engine rpm. The airplane subsequently impacted in an area of 50- to 70-foot-tall trees located on a hill about 1 mile north-northeast of the pilot's residence. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any abnormalities that would have precluded normal operation. Five days before the accident, the pilot received 1 hour of dual flight instruction in a Cessna 172. The flight instructor reported that the pilot told him that he had not flown in over 20 years and wanted to “brush-up” on his flying skills. The instructor noted that the pilot flew poorly and, at the conclusion of the flight, specifically informed him that he was not ready to fly solo and that he should obtain additional training.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The non-certificated pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while maneuvering, which resulted in a collision with trees and terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of overall flight experience and lack of experience in the same make and model as the accident airplane.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/17/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1805 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Ransom Township |
| Event State | PENNSYLVANIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 18653 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 412509N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0754605W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1754 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 160 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | AVP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 953 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 6 |
| 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) | 82 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 54 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 240 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.06 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 30029 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 2 2012 5:04PM |
| User who most recently changed record | snyg |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6613Z |
| NTSB Number | ERA11FA463 |
| 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 CORP |
| Aircraft Model | CHALLENGER II |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | CH206900535 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 900 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 47 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | William S. Spear |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Clarks Summit |
| Aircraft Owner State | PA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 18411 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | William S. Spear |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Clarks Summit |
| Operator State | PA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 18411 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | NONE |
| Departure City | Ransom Township |
| Departure State | PA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | NONE |
| Destination City | Ransom Township |
| Destination State | PA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 26 2012 1:36PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |