Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Three Oaks, Michigan 49128
Thursday, September 25, 2003 16:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain after takeoff. A witness stated, "My brother, [the pilot], took off from the airstrip in the back of his property for a short flight to "buzz" us and fly over the house. ... The take-off appeared and sounded normal to my other brother and I standing at the house end of the airstrip watching him go. The plane banked to the right and approximately halfway into the turn the nose of the plane pointed straight down so that for 1/2 a second the entire plane was visible just above the far treeline with top (roof) of the plane and the wingspan facing us squarely. It fell straight down disappearing into the neighboring cornfield followed immediately by a small crash sound and then silence." Weather was: Wind 290 degrees at 9 knots, variable between 250 and 310 degrees; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition few 3,800 feet; temperature 13 degrees C; dew point 4 degrees C; altimeter 30.07 inches of mercury. An on-scene investigation revealed both wing flaps were found retracted and the flap selector was at zero degrees. Fuel was found in the left wing fuel tank and in the carburetor. The right tank was found ruptured. Control continuity was established from the cockpit controls to each flight control surface and to the engine. The engine produced a thumb compression at each cylinder and both magnetos produced a spark at the end of each spark plug lead as the engine's crankshaft was rotated. The propeller exhibited chordwise scratches on the outboard section of one of its blades. The other blade was found with a forward bend. No anomalies were detected with the airplane and engine.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot not maintaining adequate airspeed resulting in a stall during takeoff. Contributing factors were the buzzing flight and trees.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/25/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1645 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Three Oaks |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 49128 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 414911N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0863551W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.25 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 45 |
| Airport Elevation | 628 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1654 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 115 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | SBN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 799 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| 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) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.07 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KSBN South Bend Regional Airport South Bend, Ind |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 15829 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 25 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1745 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 29 2004 7:30AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | South Bend, IN, FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N25787 |
| NTSB Number | CHI03FA320 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 152 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 15280784 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1670 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 19 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 4813 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Peter W. Souchuk |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2200 W. North Avenue |
| Aircraft Owner City | Chicago |
| Aircraft Owner State | IL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 60647 |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure City | Three Oaks |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1645 |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| 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 | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 25 2004 9:33AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |