- Date
- June 12, 2007, 10:50 local (17:50 UTC)
- Place
- Lodi, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N204DCQuad City Ultralight Challenger II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20070612009449A
- Case key
- 65974
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 improper assembly of the rony bracket which attached the right wing forward lift strut to the fuselage, the subsequent failure of that bracket, and separation of the right wing from the aircraft.
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 said that he was maneuvering at 2,000 feet above the ground when the right wing separated from the aircraft. He said that the aircraft was equipped with a Ballistic Recovery System (BRS) emergency parachute, which he immediately deployed. The pilot said that the fuselage and left wing came to rest in a grape vineyard, and he was able to walk away uninjured. Postaccident examination of the wreckage, by a fellow Challenger II pilot, revealed that the "rony bracket" that attached the forward lift strut to the fuselage failed. The bracket was not attached per the Challenger II building manual. The manufacturer's instructions state that the bolt should only be snug. It also warns to not over tighten these bolts holding the brackets to the hollow tubes and that there should be no more than two threads showing past the nut. The bolt on this rony bracket had at least five to six threads showing. Additionally, the end of the hollow tube was deformed into an oval shape, and not round. The remaining rony brackets did have only two threads showing and they could be rotated by hand, per the manufacturer's instructions.
Factual narrative
On June 12, 2007, at approximately 1050 Pacific daylight time, a Quad City Ultralight Aircraft, Challenger II experimental light sport aircraft (ELSA), N204DC, was substantially damaged when its right wing separated in flight near Lodi, California. The sport pilot, the sole occupant in the aircraft, was not injured. The pilot/owner was operating the aircraft under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal, local flight, which had originated approximately 5 minutes before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed.
The pilot said that he was maneuvering at 2,000 feet above the ground when the right wing separated from the aircraft. He said that the aircraft was equipped with a Ballistic Recovery System (BRS) emergency parachute, which he immediately deployed. The pilot said that the fuselage and left wing came to rest in a grape vineyard, and he was able to walk away uninjured.
Postaccident examination of the wreckage, by a fellow Challenger II pilot, revealed that the "rony bracket" that attaches the forward lift strut to the fuselage had failed. The bracket was not attached per the Challenger II building manual. The manufacturer's instructions state that the bolt should only be snug. It also warns to not over tighten these bolts holding the brackets to the hollow tubes and that there should be no more than two threads showing past the nut. The bolt on this rony bracket, on the accident aircraft, had at least five to six threads showing. Additionally, the end of the hollow tube was deformed into an oval shape and not round. The remaining rony brackets did have only two threads showing and they could be rotated by hand, per the manufacturer's instructions.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N204DC
- Reported as
- Quad City Ultralight Challenger II
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- CH2-0799-1894
- Airframe hours
- 1,291
- Engine
- Rotax 503 DCDI, 52 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Terry L. Miller
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · May 1, 2007
- Departed
- 1O3 · Lodi, CA
- Destination
- 1O3
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
- 50
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- March 1, 2007
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 829 total · 500 in this make and model · 829 as pilot in command · 143 in the last 90 days · 46 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- SCK, 18 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.