Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48858
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 19:00 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane impacted terrain during an attempted takeoff from an alfalfa field. The airplane was situated in the field because of a forced landing due to fuel exhaustion experienced the previous day. An inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration told the pilot that a takeoff from the field was not advised and a local mechanic informed the pilot that the airplane could be easily towed to a nearby airport. The pilot stated that, "after much deliberation and speaking with other pilots they suggested a takeoff from the field." The pilot reported he walked the length of the field and then decided to perform a "high-speed taxi" to evaluate the area. The pilot stated he selected "minimal flaps to relieve pressure from the nose wheel." The pilot reported that the airplane contacted some bumps in the field and the airplane veered to the right. The pilot stated he "pulled back a bit on the controls and the plane went up a little and [touched] the left wing and flipped over." The pilot reported that the only reason he attempted to "move the plane" was because there were thunderstorms approaching the area. The airplane had become airborne and traveled north approximately 210 feet before the nose gear impacted the terrain. The local winds at the time of the accident were from the south-southeast at six knots.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper decision to takeoff downwind from the rough field and his failure to maintain aircraft control. A factor to the accident was the rough/uneven alfalfa field and the tailwind experienced during the takeoff.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/16/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1900 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Mount Pleasant |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 48858 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 434249N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0844228W |
| 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 | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1854 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 193 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MOP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 755 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 6 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 12000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2100 |
| 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) | 4 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 160 |
| 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) | 30.01 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1906 |
| 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) | 16018 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 18 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1200 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 1 2004 7:08AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Federal Aviation Administration, Grand Rapids FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3915V |
| NTSB Number | CHI04CA140 |
| 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 | 150H |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 15076651 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1600 |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 16 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 91 |
| Airframe Hours | 4225.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Triple H Aero, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. Box 26 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Fountain City |
| Aircraft Owner State | IN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 47341 |
| 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 | Mount Pleasant |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1900 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | MOP |
| Destination City | Mount Pleasant |
| Destination State | MI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 30 2004 5:49PM |
| User who most recently changed record | DINC |
| 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 | -- |