History of Flight
On January 14, 2010, at approximately 1430 eastern standard time, an unregistered, amateur-built experimental light sport aircraft, a Quad City Challenger II, impacted the ground near Airport Manatee (48X) in Palmetto, Florida. The student pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged by impact forces and a post-crash fire. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight without a filed flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
According to the airplane's owner and several eyewitnesses, the pilot was considering purchasing the airplane and intended to taxi it around the airport. The owner reported that he heard the engine revving and observed the airplane moving in a circle. After it passed behind a row of trees, he heard an engine surge and then saw smoke rising. One eyewitness heard the owner tell the pilot not to go up because of the wind. Shortly thereafter, the same witness heard the engine rev up, saw the airplane climb out and turn to remain in the traffic pattern, then observed it on the downwind leg making a turn toward the airport with a fairly steep bank, followed by an engine rev and then silence. Another eyewitness, located south of the airport, reported seeing the airplane from behind with wings perpendicular to the ground, then the nose performed a quick dive before disappearing behind trees; smoke was subsequently seen.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a student pilot certificate and a third-class medical certificate issued in June 2004. No other certificates or ratings were found in FAA records. No flight logbooks or records were located, but family members reported that the pilot had been flying airplanes for several years.
Aircraft Information
The experimental amateur-built Quad City Challenger II was a two-seat, high-wing, pusher-configuration aircraft with a primary structure of fabric-covered metal tubing. It had fixed landing gear with floats and was powered by a Rotax 582 engine driving a three-bladed propeller. The airplane was unregistered and uncertificated at the time of the accident; no aircraft logbooks were available. The owner had assembled the airplane approximately two months before the accident.
Meteorological Information
The 1453 surface weather observation at Albert Whitted Airport (SPG), St. Petersburg, Florida, about 10 miles northwest of the accident site, reported calm winds, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 19°C, dew point 7°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.18 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
An FAA inspector on scene noted post-impact fire damage. The airplane was found in a nose-down attitude, partially embedded in the ground, in a ditch near an open field approximately half a mile south of the airport. Flight control continuity was established but could not be fully verified due to thermal damage.
Medical and Pathological Information
The District Twelve Medical Examiner in Sarasota, Florida, performed an autopsy and determined the cause of death as blunt impact. Toxicology testing by the FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute detected 27.608 µg/ml norpropoxyphene in urine, 3.709 µg/ml norpropoxyphene in blood, 0.825 µg/ml propoxyphene in blood, and 0.629 µg/ml propoxyphene in urine. No carbon monoxide, cyanide, or ethanol were detected. The autopsy also noted hepatitis C infection and liver abnormalities including early bridging fibrosis and steatosis.