CEN13LA029

Witnesses saw the airplane make a low pass over a private airstrip then make a steep 180-degree left turn back to final approach for landing. During the turn, the airplane entered a steep nose down descent and made at least one-half spin to the left before impacting the ground. Such observations are consistent with an aerodynamic stall.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On October 23, 2012, about 1330 central daylight time, an unregistered Quad City Challenger ultralight impacted terrain at a private airstrip at Castroville, Texas. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was fatally injured. The ultralight was substantially damaged. The ultralight was being operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The cross country flight originated from the Roger M. Dreyer Memorial Airport (KT20), Gonzales, Texas, about 1230. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who went to the scene, witnesses told him the airplane made a low pass over a private airstrip. The airplane then made a tight left 180-degree turn to final approach for landing. During the turn, the airplane stalled, entered a steep nose down descent, and made at least one-half turn to the left before impacting the ground. The ultralight had just been purchased and was being delivered to the new owner when the accident occurred. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot, age 56, held a private pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land and instrument ratings. He also held a third class airman medical certificate with a restriction that corrective lenses be worn. According to FAA, the pilot had accrued 537 total flight hours, 30 hours within the previous 90 days, and a total of 3 hours in the airplane make and model, accumulated during the delivery flight. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The ultralight was a 2-place tandem configuration, equipped with a Rotax 503, a 2-cylinder, in-line, 2-stroke piston engine, rated at 50 horsepower. The engine was mounted in a pusher configuration. The ultrakight was designed and produced by Quad City Aircraft Corporation, Moline, Illinois, in 1983. It was a high wing ultralight with tricycle landing gear. It measured 20 feet long, 6 feet high, with a wingspan of 31.5 feet and a wing area of 177 square feet. The maximum takeoff weight was 960 pounds, the empty weight was 460 pounds, and the useful load was 500 pounds. The stall speed was listed as 28 miles per hour. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION Weather recorded by the Castroville Municipal Airport's (KCVB) Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS-3) at 1335 was as follows: Wind, 160 at 8 knots; visibility, 5 statute miles; ceiling, 2,600 feet broken, 3,400 feet overcast; temperature, 27 degrees C. (81 degrees F.); dew point, 20 degrees C. (61 degrees F.); altimeter setting, 29.96 inches of Mercury. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION An autopsy was performed by the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office. Death was attributed to "blunt force injuries." Toxicology protocols were also conducted by Bexar County and FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. According to both reports, there was no evidence of carbon monoxide, cyanide ethanol, or drugs.