# Accident 20161109018409A: Harman Steve CHALLENGER II, Crescent City, FL, November 9, 2016

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 9, 2016, 09:13 local time
- Place: Crescent City, FL
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 29.4081° N, 81.5144° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.4081&lon=-81.5144&mi=10
- Aircraft: N327SH, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N327SH-2018-04-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Harman Steve CHALLENGER II (registry code 056260Y, https://openairdocs.org/model/harman-steve-challenger-ii) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rotax 503 DCDI (registry code 55566, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-503-dcdi) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HARMAN STEVE CHALLENGER II
- Reported engine: ROTAX 503 DCDI
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Flight instructor, sport pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 341 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA17FA038](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA17FA038) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20161109018409A

## Narrative

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

ON 11/9/2016 AT 0913 EST, AN EXPERIMENTAL AMATEUR-BUILT CHALLENGER II, N327SH, WAS DESTROYED DURING AN IN-FLIGHT BREAKUP IN CRESCENT CITY, FL.  THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT PILOT/OWNER WERE FATALLY INJURED.  IT WAS A LOCAL INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT WHICH DEPARTED CRESCENT LAKE FARMS AIRPORT (16FD) AT APPROXIMATELY 0815.   THE AIRPLANE WAS PRIVATELY OWNED AND OPERATED AND HANGARED AT THE PRIVATE GRASS STRIP (16FD).  A WITNESS OBSERVED THE PLANE FLYING STRAIGHT AND LEVEL HEADING SOUTH FROM HIS BACKYARD PRIOR TO CRASHING.  HE STATED THE ENGINE "GOT QUIET" AND THE PLANE STARTED TO GLIDE.  SECONDS LATER, THE PLANE PITCHED UP AND THE ENGINE NOISE INCREASED AS IF ADDING FULL POWER.  HE HEARD A LOUD SOUND AND SAW A WING DEPART THE AIRPLANE.  AS THE FUSELAGE FELL HE HEARD ANOTHER LOUD BANG JUST BEFORE HITTING THE TREES.  HE RAN FOR COVER AS THE RIGHT WING CONTINUED TOWARDS HIM FINALLY COMING TO REST 3 FEET FROM HIS HOUSE.  THE MAIN WRECKAGE CAME TO REST IN A WOODED AREA 1.2 NM WEST OF THE AIRPORT.  THE MAJORITY OF THE AIRPLANE COMPONENTS WERE FOUND AT THE FOOT OF A LARGE OAK TREE WITH PORTIONS OF THE LEFT WING RESTING 30 FT HIGH IN THE TREE.  THE RIGHT WING, REMAINING MOSTLY INTACT, WAS FOUND 1000 FEET SOUTH OF THE MAIN WRECKAGE AND AN AIRFRAME PARACHUTE WITH EXPENDED ROCKET MOTOR WERE FOUND 600 FEET TO THE SOUTHEAST.  THE ACCIDENT WAS PHONED IN AT 0913 EST AND A PUTNAM COUNTY SHERIFF WAS FIRST ONSCENE.

## 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 ERA17FA038](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA17FA038), Nov 9, 2016: Quad City Challenger (N327SH), Crescent City, FL, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: An abrupt pitch-up maneuver following a descent, which resulted in the in-flight separation of the right wing due to the overload failure of both the forward and aft right wing attachment brackets.

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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