Lee's Summit Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lee's Summit, Missouri 64081
Thursday, December 4, 1997 18:15 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported taking off during gusty wind conditions on a dark night. He said that shortly after liftoff, the airplane '...veered sharply to the left... .' The pilot said he applied full right rudder and aileron to maintain a '...somewhat level...' attitude. He said the airplane flew through the tops of trees before it collided with the ground, while he was maneuvering to return to the airport. The investigation revealed that the left engine's propeller was not feathered, and the landing gear was in the DOWN position. No mechanical anomalies were found with the engine or airframe that would have prevented flight. The left engine magneto switches were found in the OFF position. The landing light switches were ON. The magneto switch guard cover's self-erecting springs were broken allowing the guard cover to cover the landing light switches instead of the magneto switches.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate remedial action concerning the loss of engine power, after inadvertently switching off the magnetos. Factors relating to the accident were: the broken springs for magneto cover guard; excessive drag from the extended landing gear and unfeathered propeller; and failure of the pilot to maintain runway alignment after loss of engine power; all of which subsequenlty led to a failure (or inability) to remain clear of obstructions (trees).

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/4/1997
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1815
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City LEE'S SUMMIT
Event State MISSOURI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 64081
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport LEE'S SUMMIT MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID K84
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 1000
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1754 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID MKC
Elevation of weather observation facility 759
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 30
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 3400
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) 9
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 0
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 28
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1136
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 4 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1852
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 4 2001 11:17AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8189P
NTSB Number CHI98LA054
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 None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-34-200T
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-34-200T
Aircraft Serial Number 348070188
Certified Max Gross Weight 4700
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 May 2 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 174
Airframe Hours 2360
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name NORTHERN INVESTMENT GROUP, INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 10777 BARKLEY SUITE 210
Aircraft Owner City OVERLAND PARK
Aircraft Owner State KS
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 66211
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code K84
Departure City
Departure State MO
Departure Country
Departure Time 1815
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code K84
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 4 2001 11:53AM
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 --