Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tomahawk, Wisconsin 54487
Sunday, July 8, 2001 15:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane sustained substantial damage on impact with trees during initial climb. The pilot and two passengers were uninjured. The pilot aborted two takeoffs. The pilot indicated, "This time I changed my route to get a longer run (3). I step taxied to the southwest corner of the lake accelerating to the east and departed to the north to maximize the length of my takeoff run. This time I lifted off cleanly with good airspeed. Initially I climbed well, but after a bit my climb rate slowed. At a point several hundred yards from shore I realized I may not clear the trees. I did not feel I had enough room to safely turn the aircraft back, so I elected to maintain my direction and increase my angle of attack little by little to try to clear the trees and keep the aircraft flying. I cleared the first row of trees, but dragged my left float through a tree top at which point the aircraft stalled falling off to the left, striking a tree with my left float. The aircraft slide down this same tree coming to rest at its base." The pilot listed no "mechanical malfunction failure" on his statement. At 2055, density altitude was 3,705 feet above mean sea level. The pilot's safety recommendation was, "Less weight, cooler outside temp, better wind." The pilot stated that he did not perform a density altitude calculation prior the the accident flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The inadequate preflight preparation that did not include calculating the density altitude and the pilot not maintaining clearance from the second row of trees on initial climb. Factors include those trees and the high density altitude present at the time of the accident.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/8/2001
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Tomahawk
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 54487
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport --
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1455 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 166
Weather Observation Facility ID RRL
Elevation of weather observation facility 1317
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 17
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 6000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
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) 29.87
Density Altitude (feet) 3705
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KRRL 081455Z AUTO 22003KT 10SM CLR 27/21 A2992 RMK
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11026
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 8 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1638
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Nov 27 2001 11:26AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Milwaukee, WI, FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N103DL
NTSB Number CHI01LA200
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 175
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 55913
Certified Max Gross Weight 2350
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 Aug 1 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 46
Airframe Hours 3190
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Daniel J. Kedrowski
Aircraft Owner Street Address 14315 Ural Street NE
Aircraft Owner City Ham Lake
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 55304
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 --
Departure City Tomahawk
Departure State WI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Ham Lake
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 1 2001 8:42AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --