# Accident 19981108043859A: Semco CHALLENGER, San Antonio, TX, November 8, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: November 8, 1998, 12:58 local time - Place: San Antonio, TX - Airport: Horizon Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 29.2846° N, 98.4983° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at HORIZON (74R), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.2846&lon=-98.4983&mi=10 - Aircraft: NONE (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: SEMCO CHALLENGER - Reported engine: ROTAX ROTAX447 - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Pilot flight hours: 3,408 total - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981108043859A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) HISTORY OF FLIGHT ON NOVEMBER 8, 1998, AT 1258 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, AN UNREGISTERED TWO-PLACE CHALLENGER II ULTRALIGHT VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED TERRAIN FOLLOWING A LOSS OF CONTROL WHILE ON THE DOWNWIND LEG AT THE HORIZON AIRPORT NEAR SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND THE PASSENGER/CO-OWNER OF THE VEHICLE WERE FATALLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING FROM THE HORIZON AIRPORT AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. ACCORDING TO THE SURVIVING CO-OWNER OF THE VEHICLE, THE CARBURETOR AND A STARTER PULL ROPE WERE RECENTLY REPLACED ON THE ULTRALIGHT BY THE TWO OWNERS. THE 70-YEAR-OLD PASSENGER/CO-OWNER OF THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN HAVING HEART PROBLEMS, AND AS RECENTLY AS 2 DAYS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, FAINTED AND PASSED OUT WHILE WORKING ON THE VEHICLE WITH THE OTHER OWNER. HE REFUSED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL WITH THE RESPONDING PARAMEDICS FOR A CHECKUP. HE AGREED, H OWEVER, TO "GROUND HIMSELF" UNTIL HIS NEXT SCHEDULE VISIT WITH A CARDIOLOGIST SCHEDULED FOR THE DAY AFTER THE ACCIDENT. THE SURVIVING OWNER STATED THAT THEY ASKED "A LONG FRIEND AND EXPERIENCED PILOT THAT LIVES ON MOBILE HOME AT THE AIRPORT" TO FLY THE ULTRALIGHT FOR THEM. THE PILOT THAT HAD NOT BEEN FEELING WELL, DECIDED TO ACCOMPANY THE PRIVATE PILOT AS A "BACKSEAT PILOT" IN THE TANDEM VEHICLE. THE OWNER STATED THAT SEVERAL RUNUPS AND HIGH SPEED TAXI CHECKS WERE CONDUCTED BY THE PRIVATE PILOT TO THE FIRST FLIGHT TO "GET THE FEEL OF THE MACHINE." THE FLIGHT DEPARTED FROM RUNWAY 16 AT THE HORIZON AIRPORT. THE ULTRALIGHT WAS OBSERVED BY OTHER PILOTS AT THE AIRPORT CLIMBING TO APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET AGL. SOON AFTER TURNING DOWNWIND, WITNESSES OBSERVED THE NOSE OF THE ULTRLIGHT GRADUALLY PITCH DOWN UNTIL THE VEHICLE ASSUMED A NEAR VERTICAL ATTITUDE. THE ULTRLIGHT IMPACTED ON AN OATS FIELD ABOUT 1/8 OF A MILE FORM THE PERIMETER OF THE AIRPORT, ON A NEASURED HEADING OF 082 DEGREES. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE AND SIGNATURES AT THE ACCIDENT SITE INDICATE THAT THE VEHICLE IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A NEARLY VERTICAL NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE, IN A SLIGHT RIGHT TURN. THE ULTRALIGHT CAME TO REST IN THE INVERTED POSITION ON A HEADING OF 260 DEGREES. AN INVENTORY OF THE VEHICLE REVEALED THAT ALL OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE VEHICLE WERE FOUND WITHIN A 40 FOOT RADIOUS FORM THE INITIAL POINT OF IMPACT. FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS ESTABLISHED TO THE RUDDER, ELEVATOR, AND THE FULL SPAN ALLERONS. CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS ALSO ESTABLISHED TO THE ROTAX 2- CYLINDER ENGINE. THE 5-GALLON PLASTIC FUEL RECEPTACLE WAS COMPROMISED; HOWEVER, OVER A QUART OF AUTOMOTIVE FUEL RETAINED. THE FLIGHT CONTROL STICK FOR REAR SEAT WAS FOUND BENT FORWARDS AND FRACTURED AT THE BASE. THE SURVIVING OWNER STATED THAT THEY PURCHASED THE 1983 VEHICLE FROM A FELLOW FROM PADRA ISLAND APPROXIMATELY 2 YEARS AGO. HE STATED THAT THERE WERE NO RECORDS AVAILABLE WHEN THEY PURCHASED THE VEHICLE, AND HIS KNOWLEDGE, THE VEHICLE HAD NEVER BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE FAA. THE OWNER FURTHER STATED THAT THE N501BC MARKINGS ON THE TAIL WHERE PROBABLY PAINTED BY THE PREVIOUS OWNER "TO KEEP THE FAA FOLKS HAPPY." NEITHER OCCUPANTS WERE WEARING HELMETS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT EQUIPPED WITH SHOULDER HARNESSES AND THE SEAT BLETS FOR BOTH OCCUPANTS WERE FOUND SPEARATED FROM THE AIRFRAME. THERE WAS NO FIRE. (.4)THE PILOT OF THE ULTRALIGHT VEHICLE INADVERTENTLY STALLED THE ULTRALIGHT VEHICLE ON HIS FIRST FLIGHT WHILE TURNING FROM CROSSWIND TO DOWNWIND. THE 70 YEAR OLD PASSENGER/CO-OWNER OF THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN EXPERIENCING CARDIOVASCULAR PROBLEMS, AND AS RECENTLY AS 2 DAYS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, FAINTED AND PASSED OUT WHILE WORKING ON THE VEHICLE WITH THE OTHER OWNER. HE REFUSED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL WITH THE RESPONDING PARAMEDICS FOR A CHECKUP; HOWEVER, HE AGREED TO 'GROUND HIMSELF' UNTIL HIS NEXT VISIT WITH A CARDIOLOGIST SCHEDULED FOR THE DAY AFTER THE ACCIDENT. A LONG TIME FRIEND AND PILOT WAS ASKED TO FLY THE ULTRALIGHT. THE CO-OWNER ELECTED TO ACCOMPANY THE PRIVATE PILOT AS A 'BACKSEAT PILOT' IN THE TANDEM VEHICLE. SEVERAL RUNUPS AND HIGH SPEED TAXI CHECKS WERE CONDUCTED BY THE PRIVATE PILOT, WHO HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY FLOWN THE VEHICLE, TO 'GET THE FEEL OF THE MACHINE.' WITNESSES OBSERVED THE NOSE OF THE ULTRALIGHT GRADUALLY PITCH DOWN DURING THE TURN TO THE DOWNWIND LEG. THE VEHICLE IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A NEARLY VERTICAL NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE, IN A SLIGHT RIGHT TURN, COMING TO REST IN THE INVERTED POSITION. (-23) SEE NARRATIVE #FTW99FA022 ## NTSB investigation None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search 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.