Lake Village Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lake Village, Indiana 46439
Saturday, July 5, 1997 17:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After flying locally for 15 minutes, checking wind conditions, and boarding a passenger, the pilot departed for a local flight. Full power was achieved and takeoff was initiated. On climb-out, after establishing a positive rate of climb and reaching an altitude of 50 to 60 feet the pilot was unable to sustain sufficient airspeed. A hard landing in the overrun of the runway resulted in the right main gear collapsing and the airplane nosing over. Postinspection revealed no anomalies with the aircraft prior to the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inability to maintain sufficient airspeed and climb.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/5/1997
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1730
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City LAKE VILLAGE
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 46439
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport LAKE VILLAGE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID C98
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 644
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 824
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 5 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2020
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:24PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N46844
NTSB Number CHI97LA202
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 Niquette
Aircraft Model PIETENPOL GN-1
Aircraft Series Identifier PIETENPOL
Aircraft Serial Number 118
Certified Max Gross Weight 1128
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 21 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 17
Airframe Hours 800
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name GEORGE WOLOTKA
Aircraft Owner Street Address 13505 W 161 ST. AVE
Aircraft Owner City LOWELL
Aircraft Owner State IN
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 46356
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
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 Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code C98
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
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 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 36
Runway Length 2480
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --