Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Grand Haven Memorial Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Grand Haven, Michigan 49417
Thursday, July 20, 1995 20:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Witnesses reported that the airplane departed runway 9 and was about 1,500 feet from the runway when it appeared to stall. The co-owner of the plane also witnessed the accident. He noted that the airplane was in a nose-high attitude and was 'climbing too steep.' Also, a witness reported that the engine 'never missed a beat' and sounded good. During impact, the airplane hit a power line, tree(s), and the ground. The pilot had logged only 1 hour of flight time in the accident aircraft, which was also the total number of hours he had logged in the last 90 days. Examination of the airplane revealed continuity of the engine and flight controls. All the engine accessories were intact. There were 5 gallons of aviation fuel on board. A toxicology test of the pilot's blood revealed 0.119 mcg/ml Propoxyphene (Darvon), 0.937 mcg/ml Norpropoxyphene (metabolite of Propoxyphene), and 8.3 mcg/ml Acetaminophen (ingredient of Tylenol). The prescription drug, Propoxyphene, is a narcotic pain reliever that is not approved for use while flying an airplane.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed during the climb after takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. Factors relating to the accident were: the pilot's use of an unapproved drug while flying, his lack of experience in the make and model of airplane, and his lack of recent flight experience.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/20/1995 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 2045 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | GRAND HAVEN |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 49417 |
| Event Date Year | 1995 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | GRAND HAVEN MEMORIAL |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 3GM |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 604 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2050 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 170 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MKG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 628 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 8 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 15 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 300 |
| 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) | -- |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1561 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 20 1995 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2206 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 7 2000 4:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N218DA |
| NTSB Number | CHI95LA229 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | DARRELL |
| Aircraft Model | FALCONAR F9 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | FALCONAR F |
| Aircraft Serial Number | P4204 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 961 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 29 1994 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 137 |
| Airframe Hours | 140 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ARTHUR C. CHRYSLER |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 3460 FRUIT RIDGE N.W. |
| Aircraft Owner City | GRAND RAPIDS |
| Aircraft Owner State | MI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 49501 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | DREAM AIRCRAFT, INC. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | P. O. BOX 1923 |
| Operator City | GRAND RAPIDS |
| Operator State | MI |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 49501 |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 3GM |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 2045 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| 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 | 9 |
| Runway Length | 3750 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |