# NTSB ERA24LA169: Snyder Robert L Challenger II, N381RS, Hendersonville, NC, April 7, 2024 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: April 7, 2024, 09:20 local (13:20 UTC) - Place: Hendersonville, NC · Private Residence's back deck - Coordinates: 35.3187, -82.461 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.3187&lon=-82.4610&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Initial climb: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 194045 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA24LA169 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194045/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194045 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24LA169 ## Probable cause A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Snyder Robert L CHALLENGER II, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=05617NJ), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Initial climb: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000) (defining event); cases with it: [Snyder Robert L CHALLENGER II, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md?model=05617NJ), [All aircraft, 1,703 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Snyder Robert L CHALLENGER II, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=05617NJ), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The private pilot departed with a tailwind from a 3,075 ft-long grass runway, climbed to about 150 ft above ground level (agl) at a speed of 41 miles per hour (mph) (the airplane’s stall speed was 37 mph), and initiated a left turn. The pilot said that during the turn, the engine rpm dropped, and he was concerned about colliding with powerlines and a motor park. Instead, he chose a 3 ft round table located on the back patio of a private residence as a target to “buff” the impact. The pilot said he lowered the nose and rolled the airplane left and “slipped” the airplane between the tall trees located in the backyard of the residence and impacted the table/patio, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing. Once the airplane was recovered from the patio, the pilot test ran the two-stroke engine on the airframe under the supervision of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector. The engine started and ran at a high and low power setting. No mechanical deficiencies or malfunctions were noted during the engine test run that would have precluded normal operation at the time of the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N381RS](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N381RS), registered now, S/N CH2-1003-2381, built 2004 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: SNYDER ROBERT L CHALLENGER II - Registry model: [Snyder Robert L CHALLENGER II](https://openairdocs.org/model/snyder-robert-l-challenger-ii) (registry code 05617NJ) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rotax SEE BOMBADIER](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-see-bombadier) (registry code 55555, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: CH2-1003-2381 - Year built: 2004 - Airframe hours: 510 - Engines: Rotax 503DCDI 55 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, June 18, 2023 - Airport: 0A7, Hendersonville, runway 15/33, 3,075 × 40 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 67; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; last flight review May 22, 1993; seat: front; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 298 total, 125 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 140° at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 45 °F, dew point 32 °F - Altimeter: 30.17 inHg - Observed at: KAVL, 9 nm away - METAR: KAVL 071354Z 14004KT 10SM CLR 07/00 A3017 ## 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 20240407003749A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240407003749A), Apr 7, 2024: Snyder Robert L CHALLENGER II, Hendresonville, NC, Substantial damage. 04/07/2023 At approximately 1355Z, [privacy data omitted] departed the Hendersonville Airport(0A7) on a northly heading from the grass strip adjacent to runway… ## Docket (5 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 29, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194045. 15.5 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 9.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17039054&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Form%206120.1_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Written statement - pilot (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 346 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17053228&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Pilot%20Signed%20Statement_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 3, PDF, 4 pages, 3 photos, 609 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17038451&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Investigation%20Photos-Rel.pdf - Memorandum for record - FAA inspector statement (item 4, PDF, 1 page, 76 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17053408&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Record%20of%20Summay%20-%20FAA%20Inspector_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Experimental operation limitations - excerpts (item 5, PDF, 1 page, 4.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17038046&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Experimental%20Operating%20Limitations_Redacted-Rel.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.