Detroit City Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Detroit, Michigan 48213
Tuesady, August 28, 2001 18:05 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane sustained substantial damage on impact with terrain and objects after traveling off the end of the runway during a main wheels up landing. The captain reported that prior to takeoff, he closed the cargo door and the copilot confirmed the door light was out. After takeoff at an altitude of about 600 feet, the cockpit door popped open and the crew noticed the cargo door was open. The captain elected to return to land. The captain reported he requested repeatedly for gear and flaps extension, but the copilot was late in doing so and it "caused us to overshoot the runway centerline." The copilot then began calling for a go around/missed approach at which time he raised the gear and the retracted some of the flaps. The copilot reported the captain continued to descend toward the runway and overshot the runway centerline to the right. The copilot reported that at this time he lowered the gear. The nose gear extended prior to touchdown, however the main gear did not. The airplane touched down approximately 1/2 way down the runway and traveled off the end. A witness reported noticing that the exterior door latch was not down as the airplane taxied to the runway.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The wheels up landing performed by the flightcrew during the emergency landing and improper aircraft preflight by the pilot in command. Factors were the unsecured cargo door, the cemetery fence, and the lack of crew coordination during the flight.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/28/2001
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1805
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Detroit
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 48213
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport DETROIT CITY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DET
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 330
Airport Elevation 626
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 150
Weather Observation Facility ID DET
Elevation of weather observation facility 626
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 7500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
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) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KDET 281953Z 35007KT 10SM FEW075 27/09 A2995= KDE
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13285
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 28 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1720
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 Detroit, MI, FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N617GA
NTSB Number CHI01LA296
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Dassault/SUD
Aircraft Model Fan Jet Falcon
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 88
Certified Max Gross Weight 28660
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 3
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Sep 12 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 518
Airframe Hours 13282.6
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name GRAND AIRE EXPRESS INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 11777 W. Airport Service Road
Aircraft Owner City Swanton
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 43558
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 GXPA
Owner has at least one certificate --
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code DET
Departure City DETROIT
Departure State MI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1800
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code RFD
Destination City ROCKFORD
Destination State IL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 24 2002 5:42PM
User who most recently changed record DINC
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 33
Runway Length 5090
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --