History of Flight
On August 30, 2012, at approximately 1612 eastern daylight time, a Quad City Ultralights Challenger II, registration N2481P, crashed in a field surrounded by trees near Ocala, Florida. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight from Morriston, Florida, to Leeward Air Ranch Airport (FD04) in Ocala/Belleview, Florida, with the purpose of repositioning the aircraft for an annual inspection. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Morriston about 7 minutes earlier.
According to the son of both occupants, who inspected the airplane before starting the engine, his father (the front seat occupant, not a certificated pilot) reported 13 gallons of fuel on board, which the son considered adequate. The son started the engine, noting a fuel leak at the carburetor, smoke from the engine, and failure to achieve static maximum redline rpm, attributed to the choke being left on. The mother then boarded, and after a 5-minute engine run-up with no discrepancies reported, the flight departed. The son observed a low pass before the flight headed southeast. When personnel from the intended destination airport arrived at the departure airstrip inquiring about the occupants, law enforcement was notified, and a search began. The wreckage was located at about 2000 hours the same day; no witnesses were known.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 50, seated in the rear seat, held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating issued April 23, 2012. On her application, she listed 47.3 total flight hours. She held a third-class medical certificate with a near-vision glasses restriction, issued October 25, 2011. The front seat occupant, the pilot's husband, was not an FAA-certificated pilot. Their son reported that they did not perform aerobatic maneuvers and typically flew straight and level.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was built from a kit by Quad City Ultralight Aircraft Corporation. The kit was sold on January 13, 1992, to a Florida company, and the aircraft was designated Challenger II serial number CH20192-0779B. It was powered by a 52-horsepower Rotax 503 dual-carburetor, dual-ignition engine with a wooden fixed-pitch propeller. A Light Sport Aircraft Special Airworthiness Certificate was issued on January 7, 2008, at which time the airframe total time was 300 hours. The pilot and front seat occupant purchased the aircraft on August 21, 2011. The FAA inspector-in-charge noted that maintenance records were not located; the son reported the aircraft was always kept in good condition.
Meteorological Information
A surface observation at Ocala International Airport–Jim Taylor Field (OCF), about 22 minutes before the accident, reported wind from 180 degrees at 3 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, scattered clouds at 4,000 and 5,500 feet, temperature 32°C, dew point 23°C, and altimeter 30.04 inHg. The accident site was approximately 4 nautical miles and 301 degrees from OCF.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The main wreckage came to rest nearly inverted in an open field surrounded by trees. The outer 3-foot section of the right wing and outer portion of the right flaperon were separated about 390 feet southwest of the main wreckage. Other debris included a wing inspection panel, a hat, propeller splinters, wing ribs, and Dacron fabric. No evidence of tree contact was found on the leading edge of the right wing. The horizontal and vertical stabilizers remained attached, as did all remaining flight control surfaces. Extensive impact damage was noted to the left wing, fuselage, and cockpit.
Examination of the elevator, rudder, and flaperon controls revealed no preimpact failure or malfunction. The right wing’s main and aft spars were fractured just outboard of the lift strut attach point, with the outer portion displaced up about 45 degrees. The right flaperon’s main spar was displaced up about 7 degrees at a splice joint, and its inboard hinge was bent up about 30 degrees. The fractured spar sections were retained for further examination. The left wing sections were also sent for comparison.
Cockpit instruments showed the airspeed indicator and tachometer off-scale low; cylinder head temperature needles at or below the low end; one exhaust gas temperature at 1,200°F, the other off-scale low. The engine remained attached, rotated freely by hand, and power train continuity was confirmed. No scoring was found on piston sides. One carburetor bowl had debris, the other contained some fuel. The fuel pump showed no preimpact failure.
The wooden propeller remained attached, with one blade fractured into three pieces found along the debris field.
Medical and Pathological Information
Postmortem examinations by the District 5 Medical Examiner's Office listed the cause of death for both occupants as multiple blunt force injuries due to the airplane crash. Forensic toxicology on the pilot (FAA CAMI and Wuesthoff) showed no volatiles in vitreous fluid, no drugs in liver, unquantified caffeine, 0.62% carboxyhemoglobin, elevated iron (470 mcg/g), and various vitreous chemistry values. For the passenger (Wuesthoff), results were negative for volatiles; unquantified caffeine and ibuprofen detected; carboxyhemoglobin 0.69%; elevated iron (420 mcg/g); and similar vitreous values.
Tests and Research
NTSB Materials Laboratory examination of the fractured right wing components revealed that the outboard portion of the forward spar was deformed upward relative to the inboard portion, and the outboard portion of the aft spar was deformed forward and slightly up. Fracture faces exhibited slant fractures with coarse features consistent with overstress separation; no fatigue cracking was observed. The aft spar had a through hole near the trailing edge wing strut; the fracture intersected the center of the hole. The inboard side of the hole was severely deformed from ground impact, while the mating half showed minimal deformation.