Carmi Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Carmi, Illinois 62821
Sunday, June 20, 2004 17:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was substantially damaged during an in-flight collision with terrain shortly after takeoff from runway 36. The pilot reported completing three touch and goes "in a normal manner." He stated that on the fourth landing, after the tail wheel had touched down, he applied full engine power for takeoff. The airplane "suddenly swerved to the right and went into the grass east of the runway." The pilot elected to takeoff on a northeasterly heading from the grass area and the taxiway. During the attempted takeoff, the aircraft encountered a harvested wheat field adjacent to the airport. The aircraft became airborne in a right wing low attitude, causing the aircraft to turn toward the south. The pilot reported that the engine power "seemed to fade" and he landed on a southerly heading in a five-foot deep ditch adjacent to the wheat field. The right wing impacted the ground, twisting the fuselage and collapsing the landing gear. The pilot stated that he may have applied the right heel brake during the landing roll resulting in a loss of directional control. He also noted that the wheat field stubble was "high and made the attempted take off very difficult." He also noted that carburetor icing may have been responsible for the "apparent lack of full power response." The temperature and dew point recorded by the CUL Automated Weather Observing System at 1645 were 25 and 7 degrees Celsius, respectively. Carburetor icing data obtained from Transport Canada indicates a possibility of carburetor icing at descent power under those conditions.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll, his decision to continue the takeoff when the aircraft had left the runway surface, and his selection of unsuitable terrain for the continued takeoff. An additional cause was the pilot's failure to maintain clearance to the terrain during the initial climb. Contributing factors were the wheat field "stubble" (high vegetation) and the ditch.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/20/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Carmi
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 62821
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 380522N
Event Location Longitude 0880723W
Event Location Airport Carmi Muni
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CUL
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.1
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation 388
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1645 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID CUL
Elevation of weather observation facility 388
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) 1538
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 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16230
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 21 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1717
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 29 2004 1:02PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Springfield FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7690E
NTSB Number CHI04CA160
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 Champion
Aircraft Model 7FC
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 7FC-285
Certified Max Gross Weight 1450
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 May 20 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2.5
Airframe Hours 6517
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Ralph A. Easley Jr.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 9000 Petersburg Road
Operator City Evansville
Operator State IN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 47725
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 3EV
Departure City Evansville
Departure State IN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1630
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CUL
Destination City Carmi
Destination State IL
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 Jul 16 2004 4:31PM
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 --