Accident near North Bay

[AR705]

I haven't heard any additional information but this doesn't sound too good. Hopefully everyone is ok... Not far from where I routinely fly...

https://www.baytoday.ca/local-news/plan ... ld-1000596

[AR705]

Update... Challenger II ultralight, one fatality...

http://www.nugget.ca/2018/07/30/report- ... vestigated

[pelmet]

Pretty sure that I have seen this one before during a visit. After years of avoiding aircraft like this, I started thinking that maybe I should try to give it a go somehow. Now leaning back toward my previous policy.


"C-IGKT a privately operated Quad City Challenger II advanced ultralight aircraft, was en route from North Bay, ON (CYYB) to Ottawa/Rockcliffe, ON (CYRO). At approximately 1800 feet ASL, 14.3 nm East of CYYB, the right wing separated from the aircraft. The aircraft crashed in the trees near a cottage on Talon Lake. A post crash fire occurred and was extinguished by the cottage’s residents. The pilot was fatally injured at impact."

[leftoftrack]

@#$! me, that's litteraly my worst nightmare.

[AR705]

Apologies for heresay, but apparently there was a pretty hard water landing the day before. The gear etc was inspected and no damage found. Not saying that was the cause but it failed where the attachment would have been stressed by that event. Wing was found in the bush otherwise with minimal damage a distance from the plane. Cottage owners lucky to have family using cottage. Otherwise would have been a larger fire as conditions were very dry. I agree that this would also be my nightmare. Not a good scene, Very tragic. Hopefully I’m reducing risk of this by flying a different type, but still scary stuff!

[pelmet]

After years of avoiding aircraft like this, I started thinking that maybe I should try to give it a go somehow. Now leaning back toward my previous policy.

Accident report here...…

http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-repor ... 8o0106.pdf

"The examination of the failed right front lift strut bracket identified the following: • A clean and straight fracture line went through the centre of the bolt hole on the bracket. There were no signs of plastic deformation shown on the bracket. • Arced beach marks indicate that the edge of the bolt hole being the origins of the fatigue. The number of beach marks also indicated that the fatigue had begun some time before the occurrence, although the exact timeframe could not be determined"

"To determine if this issue was isolated to the occurrence aircraft, the TSB examined lift strut brackets from 6 other Quad City Challenger II aircraft. Of these, 4 were based in the Ottawa area and 2 were based in the Toronto area. Twenty-one strut brackets from these aircraft, each of similar construction to the occurrence bracket, were examined visually. Some were also examined under an optical microscope or scanning electron microscope. Of the 21 brackets, 8 were found to have cracks."

"The time-in-service of these brackets ranged from approximately 4 hours to 829 hours, and the brackets had been manufactured between 1996 and 2018."


This link has the NTSB report of another in flight break-up a week after it had a hard landing.
http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2019/05/q ... ed-to.html


The report states.....

"Similar Accidents

A review of the National Transportation Safety Board aviation accident database revealed four other Quad City Challenger II accidents involving in-flight wing attachment bracket failures that led to in-flight wing separations (MIA04LA068, WPR09LA453, SEA07LA155, and CEN11LA050). Three of these accidents were fatal. In the nonfatal accident, the pilot successfully deployed a ballistic parachute and was not injured.

Two of the accidents involved overload failures of wing attachment bracket(s): one of which occurred during an abrupt pitch-up maneuver after a dive/descent, and the other of which occurred after a section of fabric had separated from the wing, which caused a high drag load on the wing. In the third accident, a lift strut attachment bracket (same material and shape as the wing attachment bracket, but slightly smaller in size) likely failed due to overtightening and/or use of an incorrect bolt. The fourth accident involved the separation of a wing attachment bracket for undetermined reasons."

Seems to be a variety of reasons for these failures. Would still like to fly this sort of aircraft but I think from a structural point of view, extreme caution should be used as compared a C172. I suppose a quick glance at both types makes this obvious anyways.

[fish4life]

Literally 1/3 of the brackets had cracks that’s terrifying it’s even allowed to fly still. Should be a grounding of them