# NTSB ATL07CA023: Hudspeth Shawn D Challenger II, N44594, Bessemer, AL, November 21, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: November 21, 2006, 14:53 local (20:53 UTC) - Place: Bessemer, AL - Coordinates: 33.307777, -86.922225 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.3078&lon=-86.9222&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 26, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Birmingham FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 65008 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL07CA023 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/65008/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL07CA023 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during an approach for landing. A factor in the accident was gusting winds. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, approach - weather condition - gusts (contributing factor) - aircraft control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled - terrain condition - ground - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - object - tree(s) ## Analysis The non-certificated pilot stated that "I lost control of my [air]craft on approach to Bessemer Airport on runway 5. There was a strong crosswind from the west causing severe rotor turbulence. This caused the aircraft to alternated balloon and sink and I added power to regain stable flight causing a yaw to the left from which I could not recover. I hit the ground shortly before striking a pine tree on the left side of the runway. The impact with the tree severed the left wing and caused the remainder of the [air]craft to spin to the left and come to rest a short distance from the tree." There were no mechanical problems discovered during the post-accident examination of the airplane. Winds were 250-degrees at 8 knots, gusting to 15 knots. ## Factual narrative On November 21, 2006, at 1453 central standard time, a Challenger II, homebuilt experimental airplane, N44594, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91, personal flight, collided with trees during an approach to runway 5, at the Bessemer Airport in Bessemer, Alabama. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane received substantial damage. The non-certificated pilot reported no injuries. The flight originated from Dewitt, Arkansas on November 21, 2006 at an undetermined time. In a written statement the pilot stated "I lost control of my [air]craft on approach to Bessemer Airport on runway 5. There was a strong crosswind from the west causing severe rotor turbulence. This caused the aircraft to alternate, balloon, and sink, and I added power to regain stable flight causing a yaw to the left from which I could not recover. I hit the ground shortly before striking a pine tree on the left side of the runway. The impact with the tree severed the left wing and caused the remainder of the [air]craft to spin to the left and come to rest a short distance from the tree." Several attempts to contact the pilot by both the NTSB IIC and the FAA have been unsuccessful. The pilot did not compete an NTSB 6120.1/2 Accident Report. A review of information on file with the FAA Airman's Certification Division, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, revealed that the pilot was denied a third class medical certificate in 1991, and surrendered his private pilot certificate to the FAA. Examination of the airplane by an FAA Inspector found the left wing separated from the fuselage, along with the left wing strut. There were no mechanical problems discovered during the post-accident examination of the airplane. The Shelby County Airport , Alabaster, Alabama, 1453 surface weather observation was wind 250-degrees at 8-knots, gusting to 15, visibility 10 miles, sky clear, temperature 39-degrees Fahrenheit, dew point temperature 37-degrees Fahrenheit, altimeter 30.26. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N44594](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N44594-2013-06-13), registration cancelled 2013-06-13, S/N CHA-0704-2506 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Hudspeth Shawn D Challenger II - Registry model: [Hudspeth Shawn CHALLENGER II](https://openairdocs.org/model/hudspeth-shawn-challenger-ii) (registry code 05619XB) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: CHA-0704-2506 - Engines: Rotax 503 reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Tom Rudolph Slagle - Registered owner: Hudspeth Shawn D. - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: Dewitt, AR - Destination: EKY, Bessemer, AL - Airport: EKY, Bessemer Airport, runway 5, 5,700 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 66; injuries: none; seat: front; flight hours: 500 total, 1 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 250° at 8 knots, gusting 15 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 39 °F, dew point 37 °F - Altimeter: 30.26 inHg - Observed at: EKY ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20061121025409A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20061121025409A), Nov 21, 2006: Amtr CHALLENGERII, Bessemer, AL, Substantial damage. (-23) During an attempted landing the pilot stated that a strong crosswind caused the aircraft to alternately balloon and sink, he states that he added power… 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. --- 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.