# Accident 19971206037389A: Amtr CHALLENGERII, Rainbow City, AL, December 6, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 6, 1997, 09:07 local time
- Place: Rainbow City, AL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.8907° N, 86.0197° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.8907&lon=-86.0197&mi=10
- Aircraft: N11644, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N11644-1998-05-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Simpson John T CHALLENGER-II (registry code 05603QU, https://openairdocs.org/model/simpson-john-t-challenger-ii) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR CHALLENGERII
- Reported engine: ROTAX ROTAX503
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 5 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL98LA018](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98LA018) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971206037389A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

AIRCRAFT STALLED, COLLIDED WITH TREES AND GROUND. PILOT HAD NEITHER PERMISSION TO FLY OR FORMAL TRAINING IN AIRCRAF (-23) ON DECEMBER 6, 1997, AT APPROXIMATELY 09:07 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, AN EXPERIMENTAL HOME BUILT CHALLENGER II AIRPLANE, N11644, BUILT BY JOHN SIMPSON, COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND IN RAINBOW CITY, ALABAMA. THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING OPERATED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 BY BRUCE DIENER, A NON FAA CERTIFICATED PERSON, WHO WAS FATALLY INJURED, AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. THE AIRCRAFT CO-OWNER, JOHN SIMPSON, STATED THAT BRUCE DIENER AHD SHOWN IN THE PAST THAT HE COULD NOT CONTROL THEIR JOINTLY OWNED AIRCRAFT. MR. SIMPSON STATED THAT BRUCE DIENER PURCHASED THE AIRCRAFT IN JUNE OF 1995 FROM TOM HILL OF BARNSTORMERS INC., ELMORE, AL. MR. SIMPSON ALSO STATED THAT HE AND DR. DIENER AGREED TO BECOME PARTNERS IN THE AIRCRAFT, AND EACH WOULD GET THEIR PILOT'S LICENSE, BUT WHEN DR. BRUCE DIENER FAILED TO GET HIS PILOT'S LICENSEAS AGREED, AND DAMAGED THE AIRCRAFT, THEY AGREED TO SELL IT.                                                                                                                                                                                                       (.4)WITNESSES STATED THAT THE AIRPLANE APPEARED OVER THE TOPS OF THE TREES, FLYING TOWARDS THEM. THE WITNESSES SAW THE AIRPLANE GAIN ALTITUDE, THEN STALL INTO THE TREES, AND NOSE DIVE INTO THE GROUND. THE PILOT HAD ABOUT 5 HOURS OF FLIGHT TRAINING IN ANOTHER AIRPLANE. ACCORDING TO THE CO-OWNER OF THE AIRPLANE, THE NON-CERTIFICATED PILOT HAD NO FORMAL TRAINING IN THE AIRPLANE.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ATL98LA018](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98LA018), Dec 6, 1997: John T. Simpson Challenger II (N11644), Rainbow City, AL, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in a stall and subsequent impact with the ground. A related factor was the pilot's lack of flying experience.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.