Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St. Clair Shore, Michigan 48080
Thursday, April 1, 1999 12:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane took off from Port Huron, Michigan, on April 1, 1999, at 1130 est. The airplane was scheduled to arrive in Freemont, Ohio. An employee of the pilot's company said that the pilot was going to meet a customer there. At 1230 est, the customer called the company inquiring about the pilot. The employee said that the pilot 'would have taken the shortest route, over [Lake] St. Clair, Ontario [Province], and [Lake] Erie,' to get to Freemont, Ohio. An ALNOT was issued at 1803 est. Search and rescue operations were conducted by the U. S. Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and the Canadian Search and Rescue Center. The search was suspended on April 10, 1999, at 2125 est. The passenger's body was discovered on May 1, 1999, in the Lake St. Clair shipping channel, approximately 6.9 miles east of St. Clair Shores, Michigan. On July 2, 1999, the pilot's body was found in Lake St. Clair. Parts of the airplane identified from the make and model of aircraft were recovered with the bodies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Undetermined as the aircraft was not recovered.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/1/1999
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1230
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City ST. CLAIR SHORE
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 48080
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1254 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 225
Weather Observation Facility ID DTW
Elevation of weather observation facility 633
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 26
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3900
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) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 913
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
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 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1138
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 10 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1716
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jan 23 2001 9:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N441CB
NTSB Number CHI99FA227
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Unknown
Aircraft Explosion Unknown
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Smith, Ted Aerostar
Aircraft Model AEROSTAR 601P
Aircraft Series Identifier AEROSTAR 6
Aircraft Serial Number 61P-0417150
Certified Max Gross Weight 6000
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 Mar 15 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 3022
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MANFRED W. ENGLER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3201 CONGER STREET
Aircraft Owner City PORT HURON
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 48060
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 PHN
Departure City PORT HURON
Departure State MI
Departure Country
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 14G
Destination City FREEMONT
Destination State OH
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 23 2001 11:29AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --