Amateur-built CHALLENGER II accident near Wayland, Michigan, May 12, 1998
On May 12, 1998, a amateur-built CHALLENGER II, registered N199DD, was destroyed in an accident near Wayland, Michigan (Wayland airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's improper installation of the right wing forward strut attachment bolt.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 12, 1998
- Place
- Wayland, Michigan · Wayland · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built CHALLENGER II CHALLENGER
- Registration
- N199DD · registry record · serial CH203971590
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said that this was the airplane's first flight. During the initial climb, the right wing strut separated from the fuselage. The pilot said that the airplane was approximately 300 feet above ground level when it entered a right spin. The airplane impacted the ground in an upright position. Examination of the airplane's right wing forward strut showed that the attachment bolt was improperly installed through the fiberglass fairing surrounding the strut, but not through the strut itself.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 117 hours in all; 2 in this make and model; 1 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 39 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 7, 1998; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 503 DCDI (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 41C
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 2,800 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 310° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:56 pm from GRR, 13 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI98LA146.