- Date
- February 3, 2003, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Huntington, WV
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N851MYYoung Challenger II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA District Office/Coordinator
- Case key
- 56429
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
The pilot's improper decision to switch off the ignition on approach and not attaining the proper touchdown point.
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
As the pilot approached the base leg of the traffic pattern for landing, he turned off the ignition, and shut down the engine. His intention was to perform a "dead-stick" landing, and glide the airplane to touchdown. When he realized that the runway could not be reached, and that trees on the approach end of the runway could not be cleared, he restarted the engine. When the engine restarted, he added power, and the pusher-prop configuration of the airplane resulted in a sudden nose-down pitch as thrust was added. The airplane then "nosed-over" into the trees and the ground.
Factual narrative
On February 2, 2003, about 1730 eastern standard time, a homebuilt Challenger II, N851MY, was substantially damaged during a collision with trees and terrain while landing at Robert Newlon Field (I41), Huntington, West Virginia. The certificated private pilot/owner was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, for the personal flight that departed Lawrence County Airpark (HTW), Huntington, West Virginia, about 1715. No flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, the airplane performed "beautifully" as he flew the short distance from Lawrence County Airpark to Robert Newlon Field, his home airport.
As he approached the base leg of the traffic pattern for landing, the pilot turned off the ignition, and shut down the engine. His intention was to perform a "dead-stick" landing, and glide the airplane to touchdown, as he had done several times in the past.
When it became apparent that the runway could not be reached, and that trees on the approach end of the runway could not be cleared, the pilot restarted the engine. When the engine restarted, and he added power, the pusher-prop configuration of the airplane resulted in a sudden nose-down pitch as thrust was added. The airplane then "nosed-over" into the trees and the ground.
The pilot stated there were no anomalies in the handling and performance of the airplane. He added that, "My mistake was cutting the engine, and then waiting too long to restart. The airplane was great, no engine problems. When I hit the ground, the engine kept running."
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land. He reported about 175 hours of flight experience, 37 hours of which were in the Challenger.
The pilot/owner was the registered manufacturer of the airplane. The registration certificate showed an airworthiness date of November 8, 2002. The pilot's 37 hours of experience in the airplane was the total time on the airframe.
The weather reported at an airport 10 miles southwest of Newlon Field, included clear skies and wind from 170 at 4 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N851MY
- Reported as
- Young Challenger II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- CH2-0202-R-2186
- Engine
- Rotax 503DCDI, 52 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Michael W. Young
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- HTW · Chesapeake, OH
- Destination
- I41 · Huntington, WV
- Airport
- I41 · Newlon field airport, runway 02, 2,300 × 75 ft, grass/turf
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
- 51
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- January 25, 2003
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 115 total · 37 in this make and model · 75 as pilot in command · 53 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.84 inHg
- Observed at
- HTS
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 14, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 562 KB in all.