Troy Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Troy, Alabama 36079
Friday, April 19, 2002 18:04 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane had been flying around the area low level for about 30 minutes, when it struck power lines, about 70 feet above a lake, then fell into the water. The crash site was located about 2 to 3 miles southeast of the airport. The airplane was only partly submerged with the nose on the bottom of the lake. A witness jumped into the lake and rescued the pilot from the submerged wreckage. There were no reports of any mechanical problems before the airplane struck the power lines. There were no reported obstructions due to weather, and the reported visibility about the time of the accident was 10 statute miles.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot-in-commands decision to fly at a low altitude and his improper visual lookout resulting in an in-flight collision static with wires.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/19/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1804
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Troy
Event State ALABAMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 36079
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 315137N
Event Location Longitude 0860043W
Event Location Airport Troy Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID TOI
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 3
Degrees magnetic from airport 165
Airport Elevation 400
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 340
Weather Observation Facility ID TOI
Elevation of weather observation facility 400
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 3
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 11000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 5000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.07
Density Altitude (feet) 2135
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 --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12305
NTSB Notification Source FAA SE Reg Com Ctr
NTSB Notification Date Apr 19 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2005
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 20 2002 10:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Birmingham FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N912S
NTSB Number MIA02LA086
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 Lett R/Campbell K
Aircraft Model AIRCAM
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 013
Certified Max Gross Weight 1680
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 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Dec 10 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 11
Airframe Hours 207
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Pike Aviation Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO Box 707
Aircraft Owner City Troy
Aircraft Owner State AL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 36079
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Jackie E. Roush
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 36457 Amrhein
Operator City Livonia
Operator State MI
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 48150
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 TOI
Departure City Troy
Departure State AL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1730
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
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 Sep 5 2002 1:59PM
User who most recently changed record KENJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 32
Runway Length 5000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --