History of Flight
On November 9, 2016, at 0913 eastern standard time, an experimental amateur-built Challenger II airplane, N327SH, was destroyed during an in-flight breakup in Crescent City, Florida. The flight instructor and student pilot were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to Juguetes, LLC, and the instructional flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which departed Skinners Wholesale Nursery Airport around 0815.
The student had purchased the airplane about three weeks before the accident and had flown with the flight instructor in the accident airplane at least twice. The student was seated in the front seat, and the flight instructor was in the rear seat; it could not be determined which pilot was flying at the time of the accident.
A witness about 1,000 ft from the accident site saw the airplane flying on a southerly heading above trees. He heard the engine noise decrease, then saw the airplane descend, then suddenly pitch up with a loud engine sound. He then heard a loud noise and saw a wing separate. The airplane went straight down into trees. Another witness about 500 ft east saw the airplane above trees with the engine running and an uninflated parachute trailing behind.
Personnel Information
The flight instructor held a sport pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating and a flight instructor certificate with a sport pilot rating. His logbook showed 343 hours total flight time, with 25 hours in the accident make and model between December 2015 and October 2016. He had owned an airplane of the same make and model since May 2010.
The student pilot did not hold an FAA medical certificate or student pilot certificate. His logbook recorded 12 hours of flight instruction, all in the accident make and model, logged between March 2015 and April 2016. He did not intend to earn a pilot certificate.
Aircraft Information
The tandem, two-seat, high-wing airplane was built from a kit by Quad City Ultralight Aircraft Corporation, constructed of tubes and fabric. It was powered by a 52-horsepower Rotax 503 two-cycle engine with a two-blade, fixed-pitch pusher propeller, and equipped with a ballistic recovery airframe parachute system. It received a special airworthiness certificate on September 4, 2008. The most recent condition inspection was on June 14, 2016, at 124 flight hours; the tachometer read 142 hours at the accident site.
A hard landing about a week before the accident splayed the main landing gear and broke a steel cable. The student replaced the cable two days before the accident. The student had previously been an airplane mechanic in the U.S. Navy.
Meteorological Information
A weather observation at 0850 from Ormond Beach Municipal Airport, about 22 nautical miles northwest, reported wind from 320° at 5 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, broken clouds at 7,000 ft, temperature 18°C, dew point 17°C, and altimeter 30.09 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The main wreckage came to rest in a wooded area, severely fragmented. The left wing portions were in a tree, and the right wing was found largely intact about 1,000 ft south. Wing fabric and strut fairing fragments were scattered. The airframe parachute was found opened in the main wreckage, with the expended rocket motor and sleeve in a tree 600 ft southeast.
All flight control surfaces were present except a portion of one wing-attach bracket and a short section of the forward right wing spar. The two right wing lift struts were fractured midspan. The right wing attachment brackets were fractured and separated from the root tube, which was fractured on all four sides. Microscopic examination revealed all fracture surfaces consistent with overload failure, with no preexisting damage or corrosion.
Medical and Pathological Information
Autopsies of both pilots determined the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries. Toxicological testing on the flight instructor detected hydrocodone and its metabolite dihydrocodeine in liver and muscle, and metoprolol in liver and muscle. Hydrocodone is an impairing controlled substance. Metoprolol, a blood pressure medication, is not considered impairing. Testing on the student pilot detected atorvastatin, metoprolol, telmisartan, n-propanol, and ethanol in muscle but not liver. Atorvastatin and telmisartan are not impairing; ethanol is an intoxicant, but postmortem production is possible due to microbial action.
Tests and Research
A handheld GPS unit from the accident airplane was examined; the most recent flight recorded was on October 20, 2016, and none of the accident flight was captured. The highest groundspeed recorded on the unit was 75 mph. The airspeed indicator was marked with Vne at 80 mph and Va at 70 mph; the kit manufacturer's design Vne was 100 mph.