- Date
- November 26, 2013, 09:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Kalispell, MT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N522PEQuad City Ultralight Acft Challenger II
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 5, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20131126022059A
- Case key
- 88481
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
A loss of engine power due to the spark plug coming out of the cylinder head.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the sport pilot, during takeoff in his experimental light sport airplane equipped with a two cylinder engine, he noted a loss of engine power. During the forced off airport landing, the airplane struck a fence post followed by a hard landing. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer and fuselage. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the number 2 spark plug had pulled out of the cylinder head and the threads from the cylinder head were still attached to the spark plug.
Factual narrative
According to the sport pilot, during takeoff in his experimental light sport airplane equipped with a two cylinder engine, he noted a loss of engine power. During the forced off airport landing, the airplane struck a fence post followed by a hard landing. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the horizontal stabilizer and fuselage. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the number 2 spark plug had pulled out of the cylinder head and the threads from the cylinder head were still attached to the spark plug.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N522PE
- Reported as
- Quad City Ultralight Acft Challenger II (II)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- CH211941248
- Built
- 2005
- Airframe hours
- 668
- Engine
- Hirth 2706, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special); Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 21, 2013 · 63 hours before
- Departed
- S27 · Kalispell, MT
- Destination
- S27 · Kalispell, MT
- Airport
- S27 · Kalispell City, runway 13, 3,600 × 60 ft, asphalt
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
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Sport Pilot, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- August 31, 2013
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 552 total · 497 in this make and model · 532 as pilot in command · 34 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 18 °F, dew point 14 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.35 inHg
- Observed at
- KGPI, 8 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 21, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.