Livingston County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Howell, Michigan 48843
Tuesady, April 5, 2005 13:45 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The amateur-built airplane was substantially damaged when it departed the runway pavement and nosed over during the landing rollout. The pilot reported that he entered the traffic pattern for landing on runway 13. He stated that a three-point landing was made on the centerline and at idle engine power. He noted that as the airplane passed a hangar off the right side of the runway the prevailing crosswind was reduced. The pilot stated: "I was slow getting the left rudder off [and] the plane went left slightly. [The airplane] got hit hard by [a] blast of wind coming off the east side of the hangar [and] the plane nosed slightly more left. I'd estimate we were down to 25-30 knots when the left main wheel left the runway [and] hit the soft sod. The nose went down -- the tail came up [and] blew over. The aircraft came to rest inverted." Winds were from 220 degrees at 16 knots, gusting to 22 knots. Flight control and tail wheel steering continuity were confirmed.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing rollout which resulted in the aircraft departing the runway pavement and nosing over. An additional cause was the pilot's inadequate compensation for the crosswind condition. Contributing factors were the gusty crosswind and the soft grass.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/5/2005
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1345
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Howell
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 48843
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 423746N
Event Location Longitude 0835903W
Event Location Airport Livingston County Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OZW
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1340 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID OZW
Elevation of weather observation facility 960
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
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) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.93
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KOZW 051740Z AUTO 22016G22KT 10SM CLR 23/02
Event Highest Injury Serious
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 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17905
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 7 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1400
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 7 2005 10:33AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-Detroit FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N215CF
NTSB Number CHI05CA089
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Minor
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Franz
Aircraft Model RV-6
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 24722
Certified Max Gross Weight 1800
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 Jul 10 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 86.4
Airframe Hours 546
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Carl J. Franz
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 --
Operator City Pinckney
Operator State MI
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 48169
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 OZW
Departure City Howell
Departure State MI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1245
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code OZW
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 15 2005 4:52PM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 13
Runway Length 4300
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --