Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER II N778H

Summary

On 11 September 2021 at about 11:45 local time, a Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER II registered N778H was involved in an accident near Rogers City, Michigan, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 September 2021 at 11:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Rogers City, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Presque Isle County Airport (PZQ)

Coordinates

45.4071, -83.8129

Aircraft

Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER II

Registration

N778H

Category

Airplane

Year built

2005

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Rogers City → Rogers City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA420

1 person had minor injuries.

The separation of the right wing’s forward lift strut from the fuselage due to a missing nylon-insert lock nut. Contributing to the accident was the noncertificated pilot’s decision to operate the airplane even though a condition inspection had not been completed in the 13 years since the airplane received its experimental airworthiness certificate.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The noncertificated pilot was departing on a local flight. The pilot reported that about 100 ft into the takeoff roll the airplane began to swerve right, but before he could abort the takeoff, he heard a bang and the airplane pitched up and rolled. A witness reported that the airplane abruptly pitched up, rolled right, and impacted the ground in a left-wing-down attitude. The witness stated that the airplane completed about 270° of right roll when the left wing impacted the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing, fuselage, tailboom, and left horizontal stabilizer. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the right wing’s forward lift strut separated from the fuselage longeron. The channel bracket remained attached to the lift strut, but the attachment bolt pulled out of the fuselage longeron. The nylon-insert lock nut that normally secured the attachment bolt to the fuselage longeron was not located during the investigation. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit controls to each flight control surface. The pilot did not maintain maintenance records for the airplane, nor had the airplane undergone a condition inspection since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the experimental airworthiness certificate in December, 2007.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.