Mill Creek, IN, USA
N1519
COOPER, DAVID W. CHALLENGER II
The accident airplane and another airplane were en route to an airport as a flight of two airplanes. When the accident airplane did not arrive at the destination airport, a search was conducted, and it was subsequently found in a cornfield. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fuel tank and carburetor fuel bowls were empty. No evidence of fuel spillage was found at the accident site. Examination did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical anomalies. The pilot did not hold a pilot certificate but had received flight training. He had an instructor's solo endorsement and had soloed; however, he had not received instruction or an endorsement to solo in the accident airplane model. Based on the available evidence, it is likely that the airplane's fuel supply was exhausted, which resulted in a loss of engine power. Subsequently, the pilot lost control of the airplane during the ensuing forced landing due to his limited experience in the airplane model.
On July 21, 2013, about 0700 eastern daylight time, an amateur-built Cooper Challenger II airplane, N1519, impacted terrain near Mill Creek, Indiana. The non-certificated pilot was fatally injured and the airplane was substantially damaged. The aircraft was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated without a flight plan. The flight originated from the Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport (3TR), Niles, Michigan, about 0630 and was en route to the Plymouth Municipal Airport (C65), Plymouth, Indiana. The airplane departed 3TR along with another airplane en route to C65. When the accident airplane did not arrive at C65, a search was conducted and the airplane was found in a corn field near Mill Creek Indiana. There were no known witnesses to the accident. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that there was no fuel in the fuel tank and no fuel was found in the carburetor bowl. No evidence of a fuel spill was detected at the accident site. Further examination of the airplane did not reveal any pre-impact anomalies. The pilot held a second class medical certificate issue on March 27, 2013. The limitations section of the medical certificate noted that the pilot must wear corrective lenses. There was no record of the pilot having been issued a pilot certificate by the Federal Aviation Administration. A pilot flight logbook was recovered and indicated that the pilot had received flight training in Cessna 172 airplanes between March 14, 2013 and April 27, 2013. During that time the pilot had accumulated 14.1 hours of flight time in Cessna 172 airplanes and had soloed a Cessna 172 airplane on March 30, 2013. The logbook also indicated that the pilot had flown the accident airplane about 11 hours between May 5, 2013, and May 25, 2013. The May 25, 2013 entry was the most recent completed entry in the logbook. The logbook contained an instructor's endorsement for solo operations in Cessna 172 airplanes, but no endorsement for solo operation in the accident airplane was found. There were no logged flights indicating that the pilot had received any flight training in the accident airplane or in a like model airplane.
The noncertificated pilot's improper fuel planning, which led to fuel exhaustion and a loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to obtain adequate instruction or an endorsement to solo in the accident airplane model, which led to his loss of airplane control during the forced landing.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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