Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
South Haven Area Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
South Haven, Michigan 49090
Saturday, July 15, 2006 14:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The experimental amateur-built airplane impacted terrain following takeoff. The pilot stated that following the takeoff, there was a pronounced vibration from the engine and he attempted to return to the airport. A witness reported that a compartment cover separated from the airplane during the initial climb from takeoff. Another witness reported seeing a 2 foot square object fall from the airplane after which the airplane appeared to be moving slowly and stalling. The cover was mounted on the airplane between the aft passenger seat and the propeller. Inspection of the accident site revealed that the cover and propeller were both damaged with the cover resting along the flight path and separate from the main wreckage. The cover was attached with two latches and J- hook mechanisms. There was a latch mechanism on the left side and another on the right side of the baggage compartment. The latch assembly could be locked into place using a small pad lock. Both latches were found in the locked position. One J-hook was found intact and the other hook was missing. The airplane had not received a current conditional inspection.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The inadvertent stall by pilot during climb following propeller blade damage from the compartment door separation after takeoff. The low altitude and airspeed not maintained by the pilot were additional causes. Contributing factors were the compartment door separation and the propeller foreign object damage.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/15/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1430 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | South Haven |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 49090 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 422104N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0861520W |
| Event Location Airport | South Haven Area Regional |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | LWA |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 666 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1455 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | LWA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 666 |
| 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) | 27 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 20 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 300 |
| 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) | 30.09 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 22007 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 15 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 30 2007 12:18PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Grand Rapids FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N316DA |
| NTSB Number | CHI06LA190 |
| 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 | Armpriest |
| Aircraft Model | Breezy |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | -- |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Pilot |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Elkhart |
| Aircraft Owner State | IN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 46516 |
| 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 | LWA |
| Departure City | South Haven |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1430 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 3C1 |
| Destination City | Elkhart |
| Destination State | IN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 1 2007 12:26PM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 22 |
| Runway Length | 4801 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |