- Date
- August 3, 1999, 09:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Pahokee, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N14131William Jay Kinney Challenger II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 21, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990803026159A
- Case key
- 47031
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
failure of the engine to propeller drive belt for undetermined reasons, resulting in loss of engine power, and a forced landing to unsuitable terrain.
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
The pilot stated that shortly after takeoff from runway 35 at Palm Beach County Glades Airport, at about 500 feet, on a southerly heading, the engine to propeller drive belt broke and the engine stopped. The pilot further stated that he then executed a forced landing on Kreamer Island, in Lake Okeechobee, and the aircraft was substantially damaged in the process. FAA inspectors conducted a postcrash examination of the airplane and noted that the engine to propeller drive belt was missing. The belt was not recovered.
Factual narrative
On August 3, 1999, about 0930 eastern daylight time, a William J. Kinney/Challenger II, N14131, registered to, and operated by the pilot as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed on Kreamer Island in Lake Okeechobee, shortly after takeoff from Palm Beach County Glades Airport, Pahokee, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged, and the private-rated pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot stated that he had just taken off from runway 35, made a left crosswind turn and was at about 500 feet on a southerly heading, when the engine to propeller drive belt broke. He executed a forced landing on Kreamer Island. The aircraft received substantial damage to the undercarriage, wings and wing struts.
FAA inspectors conducted a postcrash examination of the airplane and noted that the engine to propeller drive belt was missing. The inspectors stated that it appeared that the missing belt was the reason the engine stopped in flight. The belt was not recovered, and the cause of the failure could not be determined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N14131
- Reported as
- William Jay Kinney Challenger II (CHALLENGER)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- CH20995CW138
- Airframe hours
- 83
- Engine
- Rotax 503, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William J. Kinney
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 27, 1998 · 31 hours before
- Departed
- PHK · FL
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 181 total · 84 in this make and model · 129 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PBI
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.