Grand Marais, Cook County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Grand Marais, Minnesota 55604
Thursday, May 23, 2002 11:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane sustained substantial damage when it nosed over at the edge of the runway following a loss of directional control. The pilot reported that on takeoff the aircraft was struck by a gust of wind from the left side, forcing the tail to the right. The pilot stated that he applied full right rudder and partial brake an attempt to return the tail to centerline. The remedial action was unsuccessful and the pilot stated that he attempted to get airborne sensing an imminent ground loop. The pilot reported that another gust of wind shifted the airplane tail to the right, despite the use of full right rudder and considerable right brake. He stated that the right wingtip impacted the runway and the aircraft went toward the left side of the runway where the propeller struck the runway surface. According to the pilot, the propeller then hit the ground at the edge of the runway and the airplane nosed over.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot displayed inadequate compensation for the wind conditions that existed at the time of the accident and directional control was not maintained. A factor associated with the accident was the crosswind weather condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/23/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Grand Marais
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55604
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Grand Marais, Cook County
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CKC
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 1798
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1115 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID CKC
Elevation of weather observation facility 1798
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.47
Density Altitude (feet) 3251
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) 12186
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date May 23 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1346
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2002 10:10AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Minneapolis, MN MSP FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4747Q
NTSB Number CHI02LA141
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model A185E
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 185-1201
Certified Max Gross Weight 3310
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 18.9
Airframe Hours 5847.3
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Bruce Christian Trautman
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2525W 40th Street
Aircraft Owner City Minneapolis
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 55410
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State MN
Operator Country USA
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 CKC
Departure City Grand Marais
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code FCM
Destination City Flying Cloud
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - roll/run
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 9 2002 8:37AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 4200
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --