Amateur-built CHALLENGER II accident near Conway, South Carolina, January 14, 2025
On January 14, 2025 at about 12:00 pm local time, a 1991 amateur-built CHALLENGER II, registered N938SE, was substantially damaged in an accident during approach near Conway, South Carolina (Conway-Horry County airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a total total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 14, 2025 · about 12:00 pm local time
- Place
- Conway, South Carolina · Conway-Horry County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built CHALLENGER II, built 1991
- Registration
- N938SE · no longer on the register · serial CH2 0591-0687
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the end of a 2.5-hour flight, the pilot had started his approach to land at his destination airport when the engine lost total power after its usable fuel supply was exhausted. The pilot then attempted a forced landing, but while attempting to avoid a powerline, the airplane struck a barn. The airplane came to rest in a ditch along a rural road and sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation
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
What happened, in order
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
- Fuel exhaustion during approach defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Fuel planning › Pilot
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware › Fluids › Fuel › Fluid level
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 766 hours in all; 9 in this make and model; 124 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 645 as pilot in command; 204 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 29, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 150 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, March 24, 2022; 150 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 960 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 503 (piston); 150 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KGRD Greenwood SC at 9:30 am
- Destination: KHYW Conway SC
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.22 inHg
- Observation at 6:55 am from HYW, 4 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KHYW 141155Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR M02/M03 A3022 RMK AO2
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 4 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – Airplane postaccident
Photograph 2 – Forward right fuselage accident damage
Photograph 3 – Left side wing strut accident damage, fwd and aft
The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on May 9, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot's Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Investigation Photographs | PDF, 5 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.