New Hudson Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

New Hudson, Michigan 48165
Wednesday, December 4, 1996 18:15 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After taking off at night, the engine lost total power without warning at approximately 300 to 400 feet. The pilot checked the fuel, carburetor heat, and fuel pump without success of a restart. He turned about 270 degrees before maneuvering to avoid a house. The airplane struck a tree and part of an attached garage. Examination of the engine and aircraft systems did not reveal any discrepancies. The airplane had 2.4 hours of flight time, since the last annual inspection. The temperature and dew point were 32 and 20 degrees. According to icing probability charts, conditions were conducive for carburetor icing, but carburetor icing was not verified.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

loss of engine power for undetermined reason(s). Darkness was a related factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/4/1996
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1815
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City NEW HUDSON
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 48165
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport NEW HUDSON
Event Location Nearest Airport ID Y47
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 360
Airport Elevation 926
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1745 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 230
Weather Observation Facility ID PTK
Elevation of weather observation facility 980
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 13
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 0
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
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) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 1050
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1459
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 4 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1919
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:29AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N142AV
NTSB Number CHI97LA038
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-180
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28-180
Aircraft Serial Number 28-8590006
Certified Max Gross Weight 2558
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 3 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2
Airframe Hours 2918
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name NEW HUDSON AVIATION, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 58850 12 MILE RD
Aircraft Owner City NEW HUDSON
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 48165
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board Unknown
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code Y47
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1815
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code PTK
Destination City PONTIAC
Destination State MI
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:29AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25
Runway Length 3015
Runway Width 37
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --