Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Tecumseh Merillat Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Tecumseh, Michigan 49286
Wednesday, December 5, 2001 15:00 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot said, "With mixture full rich and full throttle I started my take off roll. After reaching 63 to 65 mph the aircraft became air born with slight back pressure on the stick. While trying to correct for cross wind from about 190 [degrees] to 195 [degrees], I noticed the aircraft was being blown to the right of the runway in the direction of a roll [row] of trees and the wind had shifted. At the same time, I noticed my airspeed was becoming to low so I lowered the nose of the aircraft to increse [increase] my airspeed. At this point it appeared the aircraft was heading back to the center of the runway when a gust of wind cought [caught] the right wing and blew the aircraft just enough for the left wing tip to touch the ground. At this time I lost all control of the aircraft." An examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies. The wind conditions recorded 8 minutes prior to the accident at Toledo Express Airport, Toledo, Ohio, 24 miles south of the accident site, were 210 degrees magnetic at 14 knots with gusts to 20 knots.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the takeoff. Factors relating to the accident were the crosswind and the wind gusts.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/5/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1500 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Tecumseh |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 49286 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Tecumseh Merillat Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 34G |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 180 |
| Airport Elevation | 820 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1452 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 175 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TOL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 684 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 24 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| 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) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 20 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.07 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1371 |
| 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) | 12132 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 6 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1513 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 26 2002 11:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Detroit, Michigan FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N417EM |
| NTSB Number | CHI02LA046 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Miller |
| Aircraft Model | Lancair 235 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 72819 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1600 |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 23 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 1.5 |
| Airframe Hours | 253.5 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Randall H. White |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 5088 Centennial Road |
| Aircraft Owner City | Tecumseh |
| Aircraft Owner State | MI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 49286 |
| 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 | 34G |
| Departure City | Tecumseh |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1500 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 69I |
| Destination City | Batavia |
| Destination State | OH |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 26 2002 10:42AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 18 |
| Runway Length | 2922 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |