Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Ann Arbor Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108
Sunday, October 26, 2003 14:30 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The helicopter was substantially damaged during a hard landing following a loss of engine power and subsequent autorotation. The flight instructor reported that shortly after takeoff, within two miles of the departure airport, the helicopter suddenly yawed to the left and the engine began to uncontrollably increase and decrease speed. He noted that it sounded as if the throttle was being rolled on and off. He added that no warning lights were illuminated. The instructor reported that he took control of the heliopter at that time. He stated that he instructed the dual student to apply carburetor heat. However, the engine continued to rev and was "making a popping sound, like it was backfiring." He noted a drop in rotor speed, so he elected to initiate an autorotation. He estimated their altitude was 500 feet above ground level at that point. "The safest spot I could see was a paved road in a subdivision; we struck the ground hard damaging the helicopter," according to the instructor. A post-accident inspection revealed no anomalies. The engine was subsequently removed and torn down. No abnormalities were found during the disassembly and examination. Weather conditions recorded at the departure airport, approximately 20 minutes after the accident, included a temperature of 9 degrees Celcius and dew point of 1 degree Celcius. Data concerning the probability of carburetor icing was obtained from Transport Canada. The conditions bordered regions of serious icing at any power setting and moderate icing at cruise power.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power due to carburetor ice. Weather conditions conducive to the formation of carburetor ice and a roadway were contributing factors.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/26/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1430 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Ann Arbor |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 48108 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 421233N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0834556W |
| Event Location Airport | Ann Arbor Muni |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ARB |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 220 |
| Airport Elevation | 839 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1453 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 220 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ARB |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 839 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 2 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 4700 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| 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) | 9 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 1 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 10 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.01 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KARB 261953Z 26010KT 10SM BKN047 09/01 A3001 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 15459 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 26 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1620 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 3 2004 1:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA -- Detroit FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N191GC |
| NTSB Number | CHI04LA021 |
| 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 | Schweizer |
| Aircraft Model | 269C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 0026 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1900 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 1 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 38.3 |
| Airframe Hours | 2238 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Bijan Air Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 747 Airport Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | Ann Arbor |
| Aircraft Owner State | MI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 48108 |
| 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) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | ARB |
| Departure City | Ann Arbor |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1430 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | ANN ARBOR |
| Destination State | MI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 13 2004 7:54AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |