- Date
- April 29, 1997, 18:05 local (22:05 UTC)
- Place
- Mansfield, PA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9213AJaquish Challenger Spec II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 26, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970429007419A
- Case key
- 28189
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
inadequate visual lookout by the pilot, which led to an in-flight collision with an electrical wire. Related factors were: low altitude flight by the pilot, and the proximity of the transmission line.
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
This was a local personal flight. According to the pilot, he was coming in to land at an air strip in a field. The pilot stated he decided to fly low to check the condition of the field. According to him, as he was approaching the field, his left wing struck an electrical wire. The aircraft then struck the ground 50 to 100 yards before the threshold.
Factual narrative
On April 29, 1997, at about 1805 eastern daylight time, N9213A, a Amateur Built Challenger II, owned and operated by the private pilot, sustained substantial damage after impacting an unmarked electrical wire approximately 40 feet above the ground while making a low pass over a potential landing area in Mansfield, Pennsylvania. The pilot and sole occupant received serious injuries. Visual Meteorological conditions existed and no flight plan was filed. The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, he had been in flight about an hour before he spotted an airstrip in a field. The pilot stated he decided to fly low over the strip to observe its condition. He set up an approach to the south. According to the pilot, when he was about 50 to 100 yards before the threshold, the airplane struck an electrical wire with the left wing. The pilot stated the airplane became uncontrollable and descended into the ground.
The full serial number for this aircraft is: CH2-0395-CW-1317.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9213A
- Reported as
- Jaquish Challenger Spec II (CHALLENGER)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- CH2-0395-CW-
- Airframe hours
- 65
- Engine
- Bombardier ROTAX 503, 52 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Francis M. Jaquish
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 29, 1997 · 4 hours before
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 350 total · 65 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.