- Date
- May 9, 1991, 13:50 local (19:50 UTC)
- Place
- Silt, CO
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N425DEChallenger II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 5, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910509014899A
- Case key
- 18087
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
An in flight encounter with wind conditions which exceeded the aircraft performance capability. A factor was: the pilot's failure to obtain available en route weather information.
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
While conducting a 6 mile flight from a private airstrip to a county airport, the pilot encountered in flight winds which exceeded the performance capability of the aircraft. Aircraft altitude control was not possible and the aircraft impacted the ground in uncontrolled flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N425DE
- Reported as
- Challenger II
- Category
- Ultralight, amateur-built
- Serial number
- CH20589R
- Engine
- Bombardier 503, 53 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Eppeepperly, Donald A.
- Registered owner
- Eppeepperly, Donald A.
- Departed
- Silt, CO
- Destination
- RIL · Rifle, CO
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
- 67
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 40,000 total · 12 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 25 knots, gusting 45
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RIL, 3 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.