Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Pellston Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Pellston, Michigan 49769
Thursday, January 21, 1999 22:16 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The flight was on an IFR flight plan from Detroit City, Michigan, to Pellston, Michigan. While en route, Minneapolis Center reported to the pilot that Pellston's weather was a ceiling of 600 feet agl, visibility 5 miles, light freezing drizzle and freezing fog. A pilot report from a Northwest Airlink Saab 340 preceding the airplane, reported picking up moderate ice beginning at 3,000 feet msl. The pilot was cleared for the ILS approach to runway 32 at Pellston. The airplane's last recorded position was 15 nautical miles southeast of the Pellston Regional Airport, at 3,600 feet msl. Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies. The results of FAA toxicology testing of specimens from the pilot revealed.043 percent Ethanol in the blood. Title 14 CFR Part 91, paragraph 91.17 (a) (4) states that no person may act or attempt to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft while having 0.04 percent by weight or more, alcohol in the blood. An examination of the airplane's maintenance records indicated that the airplane's left propeller deice slinger was removed from the propeller spinner bulkhead in June of 1998.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's failure to maintain proper altitude/clearance on the approach and his flight into known icing conditions. Factors relating to this accident were the pilot flying with known equipment deficiencies, the pilot's physical impairment (alcohol), the icing conditions, and the trees.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/21/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 2216 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | PELLSTON |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 49769 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | PELLSTON REGIONAL AIRPORT |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | PLN |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 3 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 118 |
| Airport Elevation | 720 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2151 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 298 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PLN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 720 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Unknown |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 4 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -1 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 90 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 11 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 0 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Light |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 3 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 736 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 22 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1400 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 12 2000 11:17AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4920M |
| NTSB Number | CHI99FA072 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Beech |
| Aircraft Model | 95-C55 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 95-C55 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | TE-219 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5300 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 22 1998 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 106 |
| Airframe Hours | 5369 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | TOP O MICHIGAN AIRMEN INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1642 CLARION AVENUE |
| Aircraft Owner City | PETOSKY |
| Aircraft Owner State | MI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 49770 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | DET |
| Departure City | DETROIT CITY |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 2106 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | PLN |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 32 |
| Runway Length | 6512 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |