Quad City CHALLENGER accident near Sweetwater, TN
On September 10, 2020, a Quad City CHALLENGER (airplane) was involved in an accident near Sweetwater, TN. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 10, 2020
- Place
- Sweetwater, TN
- Aircraft
- Quad City CHALLENGER · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 35.555°N, 84.520°W
- NTSB ID
- 20200910X75243
Official records · ERA20LA312
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 10, 2020, at 1600 eastern daylight time, an experimental Quad City Challenger II light sport airplane, N56906, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Sweetwater, Tennessee. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. The owner recently purchased the airplane. According to the owner, he had known the pilot for a couple years and stated he had “flown lots of Challengers” and had “extensive experience with them.” He told the pilot that the airplane did not have insurance, was not registered, and did not have a current annual inspection; he planned to have the annual inspection completed a few days later. He told the pilot that he could taxi the airplane, but not fly it. The owner watched the pilot start the airplane and begin a high-speed taxi. The airplane took off and climbed out straight and level for about 1/2 mile, to a height of about 250 to 300 ft above ground level. The owner said that the airplane was flying “normal” and the engine sounded “normal” then the airplane suddenly nosed over. He stated that the engine was not seized, and the propeller was still spinning when the airplane disappeared behind trees. The previous pilot to fly the airplane was the ferry pilot a couple of weeks before the accident. He stated that the airplane flew “fine” and “climbed like an angel.” He did not complete the ferry flight due to turbulence in mountain passes; the airplane was disassembled and trucked the rest of the way. PERSONNEL INFORMATIO
Probable cause
A loss of control for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.
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Browse: Tennessee
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
