Owosso Community Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Owosso, Michigan 48867
Friday, September 10, 1999 19:32 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness saw the airplane take off westbound. He stated that he saw black contrails coming from the wings. The airplane returned to the airport in level flight about 100 to 150 feet above the ground. The airplane nosed down and crashed on the north side of the runway. Another witness saw the airplane trailing smoke similar to the smoke oil trails used by airshow performers. The second witness also stated that the airplane had black fluid coming from the trailing edge of the wings. The airplane came to rest inverted approximately 10 feet north of runway 10 and 300 feet east of the approach end of runway 10. An on-scene examination of the airplane wreckage revealed that the engine oil tank filler neck was found without its cap engaged. The pilot's logbook indicated the pilot flew a total of 11.1 hours in the accident airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's improper preflight which resulted in a takeoff with the oil cap not secured and the subsequent loss of engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/10/1999
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1932
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City OWOSSO
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 48867
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport OWOSSO COMMUNITY AIRPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 5D3
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 736
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1854 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 95
Weather Observation Facility ID FNT
Elevation of weather observation facility 782
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 17
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height 7000
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
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) 774
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 10 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1910
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:54AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N51MJ
NTSB Number CHI99LA337
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 Reichert
Aircraft Model MJ-77
Aircraft Series Identifier MJ-77
Aircraft Serial Number JR77794-01
Certified Max Gross Weight 3200
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 Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JAMES JACOB REICHERT
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1856 CORUNNA AVENUE
Aircraft Owner City OWOSSO
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 48867
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 5D3
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 4D0
Destination City GRAND LEDGE
Destination State MI
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 10
Runway Length 3800
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --