Herschel Hunter Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Marissa, Illinois 62257
Friday, June 8, 2001 15:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was damaged while maneuvering to avoid power lines on takeoff. The airplane propeller was changed just prior to the flight. The pilot said that the airplane was not performing as expected and he didn't think he could clear the power lines. He said that he was attempting to land in a field on the left side of the 2,100 foot long grass runway when the wing tip contacted the ground and the airplane, "flipped over on it's back." The pilot said that the engine was operating as expected and the static RPM, "seemed okay." He said the airplane performance was better prior to the propeller change.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's manuever to avoid obstructions and his failure to abort takeoff. The pilot's failure to establish adequate climb, and the transmission wire are contributing factors.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/8/2001
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Marissa
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 62257
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport HERSCHEL HUNTER
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 4H7
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 560
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1455 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 342
Weather Observation Facility ID BLV
Elevation of weather observation facility 459
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 40
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.06
Density Altitude (feet) 1942
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13280
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 14 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1200
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 13 2003 12:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office STL FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4558N
NTSB Number CHI01LA164
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Boeing Stearman
Aircraft Model A-75
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 75-8457
Certified Max Gross Weight 2950
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 2 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours 2133
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Herschel Hunter
Aircraft Owner Street Address 115 State Route 3
Aircraft Owner City Marissa
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 62257
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 4H7
Departure City Marissa
Departure State IL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
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 - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 18 2002 9:51AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 2100
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --