The pilot’s inflight loss of airplane control turned out to be the probable cause of a small plane crash in 2023 in Kent that injured two people, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
“Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to fly the airplane without receiving training in its operation and flight characteristics,” according to a Jan. 29 final report by the NTSB about an 1:18 p.m. Jan. 7, 2023, crash of a plane into a storage unit roof.
The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Auburn Municipal Airport. The pilot and passenger suffered serious injuries after the plane slammed into the roofs of two units at Affordable Self Storage, 1721 Central Ave. S., just north of the airport.
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the accident site, according to the report. The airplane came to rest on a storage facility roof, with substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The airplane was relocated to a secured facility for further examination.
Approximately 30 emergency personnel responded to the plane crash, according to Puget Sound Fire. Firefighters scrambled 15 feet up on ladders to rescue the two men who were injured in the plane.
The passenger, a 59-year-old man, had recently purchased the Challenger II light sport airplane, according to the NTSB report. He was seated in the rear seat. He reported that he had met the pilot for the first time the day of the accident, looking for someone to fly the plane from Auburn to Harvey Field Airport in Snohomish.
The pilot, a 23-year-old man, reportedly told the man he ferries airplanes for a living, and although he had no previous experience in this plane’s make and model, he had flown joystick aircraft before and was confident with no hesitations, according to the report.
The passenger told the pilot the airplane had not been inspected and that the pilot would make the final call on whether the airplane was airworthy for the upcoming ferry flight. He further told the pilot that the plane had been sitting on the ramp for weeks and needed a thorough preflight inspection.
The passenger reported that the pilot did a quick preflight inspection and soon assisted him in releasing the rest of the tie downs after the passenger had removed the cover from the engine.
Before the flight, the passenger described the flaperon (lateral roll control) system to the pilot. The pilot departed with the flaperons in the neutral position and at about 20 feet the plane veered to the right, according to the report. The pilot continued to climb out, and at about 600 feet the pilot told the passenger that the ailerons (section on the back edge of the wing of an aircraft that can be raised or lowered in order to control the aircraft’s movement) were not responding properly and were getting locked up.
The pilot reported over the radio that he was going to return to the airport. The pilot then reported over the radio that they were going to crash into a storage facility. The plane made multiple descending right turns before crashing.
The pilot reported 650 hours of flight experience. He reported no experience in the plane make and model that crashed.
The Challenger II, also called the Quad City Challenger II, is a two-seat, strut-braced high-wing monoplane of simple design, according to the NTSB report. It has a Rotax 503 engine mounted in a pusher configuration, which is equipped with a three-bladed, ground-adjustable propeller. Lateral roll control is achieved using flaperons.
The plane’s owner’s manual stated that to be aware of flaperons will make for increased stick pressures which you will need to resist to maintain a constant approach speed. Also be aware that a high speeds, the use of full flaperons can create an extremely heavy stick condition.
The opening paragraph of the owner’s manual stated:
“Under no circumstances, regardless of experience level, should you consider flying without a proper checkout…Accidents have occurred when pilots have performed first flights without a type checkout.”
According to earlier Kent Reporter articles, firefighters arrived and found two critically injured men in the plane, said Pat Pawlak, spokesperson for Kent-based Puget Sound Fire, in a January 2023 article. The plane was approximately 15 feet in the air, on the roof of the self-storage building.
Firefighters used ladders to scramble about 15 feet in the air to reach the men trapped inside. As each man was removed from the plane, they were carefully brought down by, cradled in a firefighter’s arm, Pawlak said.
Both men were on the ground within 19 minutes after the dispatch call, Pawlak said. Paramedics transported the two men, ages 59 and 23, to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment of serious injuries.
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