Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
St Paul Downtown Holman Fld Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
St Paul, Minnesota 55107
Friday, November 30, 2001 9:28 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane sustained substantial damage on impact with the runway during a hard landing following a coupled autopilot approach. The pilot and three passengers were uninjured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot reported, "I was using the autopilot to fly the ILS localized timed approach. I was looking for the runway and watching the time. The autopilot inadvertently disengaged, turning the airplane to the left. I righted the airplane just before touchdown. It landed on the mains with the nose slightly high. It came down, and the front wheel and strut broke." During the next flight, a ferry flight for repairs, the accident pilot reported that he engaged the autopilot at 2,500 feet. The pilot reported that when the autopilot was engaged, the airplane pitched down and turned sharply to the right. The pilot reported using opposing control inputs and differential engine power to maintain airplane control. The pilot performed a no flap landing at an en route airport with a 2,497-foot long runway. An examination of the airplane revealed that when the autopilot computer was moved in its shock mount the yoke moved "violently right in roll axis and forward in pitch axis." The MU-2 airplane flight manual's emergency procedures stated, "In case of emergency, the autopilot can be overpowered manually to correct the attitude, but the autopilot must immediately be disengaged. If the autopilot remains engaged, the autopilot will trim the airplane to oppose the pilot's actions. This could result in a severely out of trim condition." The manual stated, "The autopilot can also be disengaged by any of the following methods, "1. Operate trim switch UP or DOWN, 2. Position inverter switch to OFF momentarily and then return, to original position, 3. Turn off the ELECTRIC MASTER SWITCH." The pilot reported 11 hour hours of pilot in command time in the accident airplane make and model.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The autopilot's computer connections arcing and reported disconnection during the localizer approach and the pilot not performing a go around prior to the hard landing. A factor was the pilots lack of total experience in the accident airplane's make and model.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/30/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 928 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | St Paul |
| Event State | MINNESOTA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 55107 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | ST PAUL DOWNTOWN HOLMAN FLD |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | STP |
| 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 | 705 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 953 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | STP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 705 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 700 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 4 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 1 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -1 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 60 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.77 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KSTP 301553Z 06003KT 4SM BR OVC007 01/M01 A2977 RM |
| 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 | 4 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 13297 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 30 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1341 |
| 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 | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Minneapolis, MN, FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9052Y |
| NTSB Number | CHI02LA044 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Mitsubishi |
| Aircraft Model | MU-2B-40 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 39917 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 10470 |
| 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 | 10 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 12 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Superior Builders |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 207 Hawthorne Avenue |
| Aircraft Owner City | Saint Joseph |
| Aircraft Owner State | MI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 49085 |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | BEH |
| Departure City | BENTON HARBOR |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 800 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | STP |
| Destination City | Saint Paul |
| Destination State | MN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | Yes |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 20 2003 10:31AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 14 |
| Runway Length | 6711 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |