- Date
- October 22, 1989, 09:05 local (14:05 UTC)
- Place
- Warrens, WI
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N91269Wychen Challenger II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 29, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19891022042059A
- Case key
- 14474
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
A broken cranskshaft which resulted in the loss of power. A factor related to the accident was: the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Shortly after departing a private strip, the aircraft's engine lost power. Subsequently, the aircraft was damaged & the pilot was injured, while landing on an earthen dike between cranberry beds. An exam of the engine revealed its crankshaft had failed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N91269
- Reported as
- Wychen Challenger II (CHALLENGER)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- CH20187WD225
- Airframe hours
- 82
- Engine
- Rotax 503 DC, 52 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James G. Van Wychen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 41
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 120 total · 85 in this make and model · 86 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.