Map showing the site of the precautionary landing and the accident site (inset). (Image: Google Earth Pro, with TSB annotations)

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada on February 15 released its Class 4 investigation report (A22O0140) into the September 2022, fatal collision with terrain of a privately registered Quad City Challenger II advanced ultralight aircraft near Westport, Ontario.

At 12:48 pm on September 24, 2022, the privately registered Quad City Ultralight Aircraft Corporation (Quad City) Challenger II (registration C-IYDD, serial number CH2-0604-2481) departed from a private grass runway near Yarker, Ontario, for a daytime visual flight rules (VFR) flight to Westport/Rideau Lakes Aerodrome (CRL2), Ontario. The pilot was the sole occupant on board.

As the aircraft was en route, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) explains a door opened and the pilot conducted a precautionary landing in a farmer’s field near Bobs Lake, east of Parham, Ontario. After landing, TSB explains the pilot called the aircraft owner, who was waiting at CRL2, and requested that he come to the field to assist with the repair of the door.

After the repairs, at 13:13 pm, TSB explains the aircraft departed from the field to resume the flight to CRL2. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft was observed flying at a low altitude in a southerly direction. TSB reports the engine was heard producing a sputtering sound and then stopping. The aircraft was then observed descending rapidly and rolling inverted, explains TSB, before colliding with terrain in a wooded area. The pilot was fatally injured.