Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Redford, Michigan 48239
Wednesday, June 15, 2005 9:00 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The amateur-built airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing to a golf course after a loss of engine thrust. The pilot reported that he had flown for about one hour when he heard and felt a loud "bang" from the front of the engine. The engine lost power. He reported that he immediately declared a "MAYDAY" and executed a forced landing to a golf course. During the landing rollout he encountered rough terrain, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine firewall. The pilot reported that all three wooden propeller blades had separated from the propeller hub. The inspection of the airplane revealed that the engine exhibited continuity and thumb compression. The two carburetors were found separated from their respective rubber couplers. Two of three propeller blades were recovered. The propeller hub and the two propeller blades were sent to the National Transportation Safety Board's Materials Laboratory for inspection. The inspection revealed that both blades appeared to be in good condition, with only a few small, shallow dents on the surface and no splintering or other damage to the blade tip or leading edge. The fracture of the wood of the three propeller blade root ends appeared to have fractured in shear stress. Calculations indicated that normal operation of the engine would produce a shear stress of 741 psi on the propeller blades. In the manufacturer's product testing, the blade retention had not failed until the application of about 2,200 psi. The number 1 propeller blade was not recovered which precluded its inspection for failure or defects.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The total loss of engine thrust was the result of the propeller blades overstress separation from the propeller hub for an undetermined reason. An additional cause was the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/15/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 900 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Redford |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 48239 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 846 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 50 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MTC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 580 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 30 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2400 |
| 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) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 19 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 240 |
| 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) | 29.59 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | SPECI KMTC 151246Z 24006KT 7SM -SHRA BKN024 BKN080 |
| 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) | 19321 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 15 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 28 2006 1:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA-Grand Rapids, Michigan FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N613DT |
| NTSB Number | CHI05LA143 |
| 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 | Thomas |
| Aircraft Model | Zenith CH701 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 7-5337 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1100 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Mar 1 2005 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 58 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | David Petrus |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 350 Whispering Creek Rd. |
| Aircraft Owner City | West Monroe |
| Aircraft Owner State | LA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 71291 |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | Z92 |
| Departure City | Harsens Island |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 800 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | DFI |
| Destination City | Defiance |
| Destination State | OH |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 13 2006 4:43PM |
| 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 | -- |