Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER II N204DC
12 June 2007 · Lodi, California, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 12 June 2007 at about 17:50 local time, a Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER II registered N204DC was involved in an accident near Lodi, California, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 17:50
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Lodi, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 38.2025, -121.2683
- Aircraft
- Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER II
- Registration
- N204DC
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Lodi → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- SEA07LA155
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The improper assembly of the rony bracket which attached the right wing forward lift strut to the fuselage, the subsequent failure of that bracket, and separation of the right wing from the aircraft.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot said that he was maneuvering at 2,000 feet above the ground when the right wing separated from the aircraft. He said that the aircraft was equipped with a Ballistic Recovery System (BRS) emergency parachute, which he immediately deployed. The pilot said that the fuselage and left wing came to rest in a grape vineyard, and he was able to walk away uninjured. Postaccident examination of the wreckage, by a fellow Challenger II pilot, revealed that the "rony bracket" that attached the forward lift strut to the fuselage failed. The bracket was not attached per the Challenger II building manual. The manufacturer's instructions state that the bolt should only be snug. It also warns to not over tighten these bolts holding the brackets to the hollow tubes and that there should be no more than two threads showing past the nut. The bolt on this rony bracket had at least five to six threads showing. Additionally, the end of the hollow tube was deformed into an oval shape, and not round. The remaining rony brackets did have only two threads showing and they could be rotated by hand, per the manufacturer's instructions.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Jan 2007 | Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER SPECIAL | Orland, California, United States | Fredrick P. Derose | No injuries | - |
| 16 Mar 2008 | Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER I | Rayle, Georgia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 31 May 2008 | Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER LSS | Moses Lake, Washington, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 13 Jul 2008 | Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER II | Windslow Twp, New Jersey, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 17 Aug 2011 | Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER II | Ransom Township, Pennsylvania, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 3 May 1998 | Quad City Ultralight CHALLENGER II | Savannah, Georgia, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jun 2007 | Piper PA-28-180 | Rosamond, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Jul 2007 | Schempp-Hirth VENTUS-2C | Bridgeport, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 22 May 2007 | Schweizer SGS2-33A | Los Alamitos, California, United States | Civil Air Patrol - California Wing | No injuries | - |
| 25 May 2007 | Westland WASP HAS MK1 | Ramona, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 8 Jul 2007 | Cessna 152 | Tracy, California, United States | California Airways | Minor injuries | - |
| 25 May 2007 | Skygear SKYGEAR | Chino, California, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |