# Accident 20000909014959A: Amtr CHRISEAGLE2, Lake Elsinore, CA, September 9, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 9, 2000, 13:35 local time
- Place: Lake Elsinore, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.5008° N, 117.2897° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.5008&lon=-117.2897&mi=10
- Aircraft: N44ED, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N44ED-2001-02-27) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Humphrey E J CHRISTEN EAGLE II (registry code 05658BC, https://openairdocs.org/model/humphrey-e-j-christen-eagle-ii) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR CHRISEAGLE2
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,100 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX00LA331](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00LA331) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000909014959A

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT FLYING A CHRISTEN EAGLE II(N44ED) TOOK OFF FROM A CHINO AIRPORT, CA. ON A LOCAL FLIGHT. PILOT HAD A PASSENGER ON BOARD, OWNER OF ACCIDENT AIRPLANE WAS ALSO FLYING WITH THEM IN ANOTHER A/C. THE TWO A/C WERE APPROX. 600 FEET APART WITH THE OWNER LEADING THE TWO A/C, THE OWNER STATED THAT THE LAST TIME HE REMEMBERS SEEING THE ACCIDENT A/C IT WAS BELOW AND BEHIND HIM. THE OWNER TRIED RADIO CONTACT WITHOUT SUCCESS, THE ACCIDENT A/C APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN FLYING LOW OVER A MESA WHERE IT CAME IN CONTACT WITH A TREE. THE ACCIDENT A/C THEN IMPACTED THE FROUND, CRASHED THEN CAUGHT FIRE. BOTH OCCUPANTS WERE KILLED AND THE A/C DESTROYED. (.4) HISTORY OF FLIGHT: ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2000, ABOUT 1335 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, AN E. J. HUMPHREY, CHRISTEN EAGLE II, N44ED, OPERATED BY THE PILOT, COLLIDED WITH A TREE AND TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING ABOUT 6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF LAKE ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA. THE EXPERIMENTAL HOMEBUILT AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED, AND THE PRIVATE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS EXISTED DURING THE PERSONAL FLIGHT THAT WAS PERFORMED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE LOCAL AREA FLIG                               HT THAT ORIGINATED ABOUT 1300 FROM CHINO, CALIFORNIA. THE OWNER OF THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE REPORTED TO THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATOR THAT THE PILOT HAD BORROWED HIS AIRPLANE FOR THE PURPOSE OF HAVING THE PASSENGER TAKE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS OF LANDSCAPE DURING THEIR FLIGHT. THE AIRPLANE OWNER WAS ALSO AIRBORNE IN ANOTHER OF HIS AIRPLANES, AND HE WAS IN RADIO CONTACT WITH HIS ACQUAINTANCE, THE ACCIDENT PILOT. AFTER FLYING FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, RADIO COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE AIRPLANES' PILOTS CEASED, AND A COLUMN OF SMOKE WAS OBSERVED.

## 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 LAX00LA331](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00LA331), Sep 9, 2000: E. J. Humphrey Christen Eagle II (N44ED), Lake Elsinore, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from ground obstacles that resulted in an in-flight collision with a tree, while intentionally maneuvering at a low altitude, and the pilot's inattentive…

## Other reports on N44ED (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 19900807030979A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19900807030979A), Aug 7, 1990: Amtral EAGLE2 (N44ED), Milwaukee, WI, Substantial damage. Given right overhead approach. Impacted short and ground looped.

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.

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