# NTSB CEN13LA029: Quad City Challenger, Castroville, TX, October 23, 2012 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 23, 2012, 13:30 local (18:30 UTC) - Place: Castroville, TX - Coordinates: 29.426389, -98.977218 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.4264&lon=-98.9772&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report May 9, 2013 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 85426 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN13LA029 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/85426/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=85426 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13LA029 ## Probable cause The pilot’s steep 180-degree turn to final approach for landing, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and spin at an altitude from which he could not recover. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,269 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Uncontrolled descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis 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. ## Factual narrative 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. ## Aircraft - Registration: UNREG (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Quad City Challenger - Category: Ultralight, amateur-built - Serial number: None - Engines: Rotax 503 50 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: James Leppert - Registered owner: James Leppert - Airworthiness certificate: Unknown - Departed: KT20, Gonzales, TX - Destination: NONE, Castroville, TX - Airport: None, Private Residence ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 58; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: center; toxicology performed; flight hours: 537 total, 3 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 6 knots - Visibility: 5 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 2,600 ft broken - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 68 °F - Altimeter: 29.95 inHg - Observed at: KCVB, 2 nm away ## Docket (5 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 21, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=85426. 197 KB in all. - E-Mail from FAA Inspector (item 1, .PDF, 18 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40384227&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=E-Mail%20from%20FAA%20Inspector-Redacted.PDF - Weather Reports and Records (item 2, .PDF, 26 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40384241&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Reports%20and%20Records-Master.PDF - CAMI Toxicology Report (item 3, .PDF, 55 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40384484&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=CAMI%20Toxicology%20Report-Redacted.PDF - Bexar County Toxicology Report (item 4, .PDF, 67 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40384483&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Bexar%20County%20Toxicology%20Report-Redacted.PDF - Exemplar of the accident airplane (item 5, .PDF, 31 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40384485&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Exemplar%20of%20the%20accident%20airplane-Master.PDF 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.