Amateur-built Q-2 accident near Kalispell, Montana, September 2, 2005
On September 2, 2005 at about 2:30 am local time, a amateur-built Q-2, registered N12QJ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kalispell, Montana (Flathead Sky Ranch 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot/owner's improper setting of the engine's valve clearance, leading to the failure of the exhaust valves to fully close and a total loss of power while on a VFR downwind, and the pilot/owner's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed as he tried to extend his power-off glide to the approach end of the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 2, 2005 · about 2:30 am local time
- Place
- Kalispell, Montana · Flathead Sky Ranch · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Q-2
- Registration
- N12QJ · no longer on the register · serial A2876
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Just prior to the flight, the pilot, who was five hours into a ten hour experimental aircraft flight test regimen, readjusted the valve lash in the Subaru engine that powered the subject aircraft. At the beginning of the flight, he took off and climbed to about 1,000 feet above ground level (agl). After he rolled out on downwind, his ground crew contacted him on the aircraft radio to advise him that the aircraft's engine appeared to have been missing and running rough during the takeoff and initial climbout. About the time that the pilot received the radio transmission, the aircraft's engine quit producing power, and he decided to continue on around the pattern in order to execute a forced landing on the runway from which he had departed. As he turned from base to final, the pilot realized that he might not be able to stretch the glide to the end of the runway, but he elected to attempt to do so. When the aircraft descended to about 25 feet agl, its airspeed slowed to the point where it stall/mushed into the terrain about one-quarter of a mile off the end of the runway. In a post accident inspection, it was determined that the valve clearance in the engine had been set with a gap so small that when the internal engine temperature began to increase the exhaust valves in each cylinder did not completely close. Without the closure of the valves, sufficient compression was not created in the cylinders, and the engine stopped producing power.
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: 1,056 hours in all; 220 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 1,010 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 300 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 1, 2005; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Subaru EA81-1.8L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MT95 Kalispell MT at 2:25 am
- Destination: MT95
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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.