Prineville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Prineville, Oregon 97754
Sunday, September 8, 2013 11:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On September 8, 2013, about 1130 Pacific daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Cantrell LW Challenger II SP airplane, N65VG, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near the Prineville Airport (S39), near Prineville, Oregon. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.  The sport pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured.  Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the local personal flight which originated from S39 about 1100.   Witnesses located adjacent to the accident site reported observing the accident airplane fly near their location at a low altitude.  The witnesses stated that the airplane oscillated upward and downward three times before it crossed over high tension power lines and descended nose down into terrain.   Examination of the accident site by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the airplane came to rest on its left side.  The wing structure was separated and found just forward of the main wreckage.   All major structural components of the airplane were located within about 20 feet of the main wreckage.  The wreckage was transported to a secure location for further examination.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/8/2013
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Prineville
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97754
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 441725N
Event Location Longitude 1205316W
Event Location Airport PRINEVILLE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID S39
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 79
Airport Elevation 3251
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1856 Coordinated Universal Time? Same as GMT
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 259
Weather Observation Facility ID KRDM
Elevation of weather observation facility 3084
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation UTC
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
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 METAR KRDM 081856Z VRB06KT 10SM CLR 22/09 A3012 RM
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) --
NTSB Notification Source FAA AMN Regional Operations Ce
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 21 2013 6:11PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N65VG
NTSB Number WPR13FA400
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CANTRELL LW
Aircraft Model CHALLENGER II SP
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number CW1165
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Murray Allan Crowe
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Terrebone
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97760
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Murray Allan Crowe
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Terrebone
Operator State OR
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 97760
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code S39
Departure City Prineville
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code S39
Destination City Prineville
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 21 2013 6:11PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --