Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
St. Joesph, Illinois 61873
Friday, June 20, 2014 19:35 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On June 20, 2014, about 1935 central daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Schumacher model Challenger II airplane, N441MS, was substantially damaged when it collided with power lines and terrain during a forced landing near St. Joseph, Illinois. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 without a flight plan. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight that departed at 1900 from the pilot's private airstrip near Sidney, Illinois.
The pilot reported that during cruise flight, about 1,200 feet mean sea level, the engine experienced a sudden and total loss of engine power. He was unsuccessful in reestablishing engine power and selected a nearby soybean field for a forced landing. The pilot stated that as he maneuvered the airplane toward the selected field, the setting sun temporarily obstructed his forward visibility and the airplane collided with power lines. He reported that following the collision with the power lines, the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall and impacted terrain with the left wing down. The airplane spun 180 degrees before coming to a stop in an upright attitude. The pilot and passenger unbuckled their seat restraints and exited the airplane uninjured.
A postaccident examination of the airplane and its engine was performed by an aviation mechanic. The single fuel tank contained fuel and no anomalies were noted with its vented fuel cap. The engine produced suction/compression at each cylinder in conjunction with crankshaft rotation. Inspection of the spark plugs revealed features consistent with normal engine operation. Mechanical continuity was established between the cockpit engine controls and their respective engine components. An operational test run of the engine established the engine was capable of producing power. Following the operational test run, the intake and exhaust manifolds were removed to examine the pistons. The forward cylinder piston exhibited scoring and a lack of proper oil lubrication adjacent to the intake and exhaust ports. The rear cylinder piston did not exhibit scoring; however, evidence of oil starvation was observed. Further examination of the oil system revealed that the mechanical oil pump had seized within its housing. Additionally, the oil pump nylon drive-coupling had fractured. The oil pump was a non-serviceable component that prevented further disassembly.
The pilot reported that the engine was not originally manufactured with an oil pump and that he had it modified with the oil pump about 50 hours before the accident.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/20/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1935 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | St. Joesph |
| Event State | ILLINOIS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 61873 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 400445N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0880326W |
| Event Location Airport | N/A |
| 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 | 1953 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 256 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CMI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 755 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 320 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.95 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KCMI 210053Z 32004KT 10SM FEW050 26/22 A2995 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | Central Region Duty Officer - |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 13 2014 11:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | foxt |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N441MS |
| NTSB Number | CEN14LA309 |
| 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 | SCHUMACHER |
| Aircraft Model | CHALLENGER II |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | CH2-1200-CW-2039 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 950 |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 2 2014 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 430 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | C91-A |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Michael Schumacher |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Sidney |
| Aircraft Owner State | IL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 61877 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Michael Schumacher |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Sidney |
| Operator State | IL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 61877 |
| 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 | PVT |
| Departure City | Sidney |
| Departure State | IL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1900 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | PVT |
| Destination City | Sidney |
| Destination State | IL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 13 2014 11:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | foxt |
| 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 | -- |