Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Purdy Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Gaines Twp., Michigan 48429
Saturday, July 14, 2001 13:31 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane experienced a hard landing following a loss of engine power while manuevering. The pilot was throwing candy out of the aircraft to a group of children on the ground who were attending a fly-in. The pilot reported the "pusher propeller sustained serious damage due to ingested candy. Severe vibration caused by shattered propeller instantly caused separation of rear carb causing air filter to further damage propeller and killing engine due to loss of fuel." The pilot reported the only open area for a forced landing was almost directly below the aircraft and ahead of it. The pilot reported, "From approximately 50 feet altitude and 38 mph indicated airspeed nosed plane straight down into only possible open area avoiding all spectators." The airplane impacted the terrain approximately 100 feet off the end of the runway.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's poor planning which resulted in foreign object damage to the propeller, and the low altitude at which the loss of power occurred which resulted in the pilot not being able to properly flare the airplane. Factors associated with the accident were the fractured propeller blade which resulted in vibrations and the subsequent separation of the carburetor.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/14/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1331 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Gaines Twp. |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 48429 |
| 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 | Purdy Field |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | PVT |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| 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) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 11726 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 14 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1814 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 3 2002 12:16PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Detroit, MI FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4416Y |
| NTSB Number | CHI01LA213 |
| 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 | LaPorte |
| Aircraft Model | MXL II Sport |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 338MXL2DL1 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 720 |
| 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 | Jul 7 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 3 |
| Airframe Hours | 403 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | David G. LaPorte |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 9611 S. Fordney Road |
| Aircraft Owner City | St. Charles |
| Aircraft Owner State | MI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 48655 |
| 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 | PVT |
| Departure City | Duffield |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | PVT |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 2 2002 2:04PM |
| 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 | -- |