Mattawn Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mattawan, Michigan 49071
Friday, July 19, 2002 16:10 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane floated during the landing flare and according to the pilot, touched down further down field than usual. During the rollout, under heavy braking, the airplane encountered a "soft, sandy dip" toward the far end of the turf runway. The nose wheel dug-in and subsequently collapsed. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Failure by the pilot in command to attain a proper touchdown point considering the available runway length. The rough, uneven runway surface and the soft area at the far end of the runway were contributing factors.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/19/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1610
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Mattawan
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 49071
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 421145N
Event Location Longitude 0854820W
Event Location Airport Mattawn Airpark
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 8MI3
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 830
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 260
Weather Observation Facility ID AZO
Elevation of weather observation facility 874
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 6000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3400
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) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.92
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14160
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 19 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1909
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 25 2003 11:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-FSDO-Grand Rapids

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N747BS
NTSB Number CHI02CA202
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 Eckstein
Aircraft Model RV-6A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 24728
Certified Max Gross Weight 1850
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 22
Airframe Hours 149
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Brian T. Eckstein
Aircraft Owner Street Address 73256 26th Street
Aircraft Owner City Lawton
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 49065
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Lawton
Operator State MI
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 49065
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 No
Departure Airport Code LSE
Departure City La Crosse
Departure State WI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 8MI3
Destination City Mattawan
Destination State MI
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Sep 11 2003 2:07PM
User who most recently changed record DINC
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 23
Runway Length 2000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --