Richard CHALLENGER II N9103L

Summary

On 27 June 2011 at about 16:30 local time, a Richard CHALLENGER II registered N9103L was involved in an accident near Moses Lake, Washington, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 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

27 June 2011 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Moses Lake, Washington, United States

Coordinates

47.1392, -119.2383

Aircraft

Richard CHALLENGER II

Registration

N9103L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Moses Lake → Moses Lake

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11LA291

1 person was seriously injured.

A loss of engine power during the initial climb for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and the flight instructor were in the process of starting the climb after takeoff in the airplane that the pilot had recently purchased. As they started to turn toward the practice area, the airplane’s water-cooled engine suddenly began to overheat. The pilots therefore initiated a turn back toward the airport, but the engine started losing power. Because it appeared that they would not be able to make it to the airport, the flight instructor took over and landed the airplane in a nearby soft field covered with a crop of wheat. During the landing roll, the airplane nosed over and a fire began, which eventually consumed much of the airframe structure and engine components. Although the engine cooling system was missing a mandatory cooling system vent line, the teardown examination did not reveal any evidence of overheating or component seizure in the engine’s top end. The investigation also determined that the failure of the crankshaft to rotate after the accident was due to the postaccident melting and subsequent solidification of the phenolic MAG bearing cages due to the postimpact fire. The investigation was unable to determine the reason for the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.