Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Burke Lakefront Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 19:22 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was hired by the airplane operator for a positioning flight. The pilot departed at night in a northerly right turn over Lake Erie from a lake shore airport. The moon and city associated with the airport were south of his flight path. The airplane was observed descending in the right hand turn and subsequently impacting the lake. An examination of the recovered wreckage revealed no preimpact anomalies, and an engine monitor recorded sensor readings consistent with both engines being at a high power until the recorded data stopped. The pilot had a history of back pain and had been regularly and recently using a potentially sedating muscle relaxant, which could cause impairment. He had heart disease identified during the autopsy that may have increased his risk of sudden cardiac death. He was also at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea, which commonly causes fatigue and cognitive impairment; however, the investigation could not conclusively identify that the pilot was impaired. The maneuvering of the aircraft and lack of outside visual references soon after takeoff made the situation conducive to spatial disorientation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot experienced spatial disorientation during the inital climb causing him to lose control of the airplane.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/16/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1922 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Cleveland |
| Event State | OHIO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 44114 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 413103n |
| Event Location Longitude | 0814100w |
| Event Location Airport | BURKE LAKEFRONT |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | BKL |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 583 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1853 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BKL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 583 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 0 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 120 |
| 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) | 30.25 |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 24810 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 16 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 16 2009 9:56AM |
| User who most recently changed record | broda |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Federal Aviation Administration |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3217L |
| NTSB Number | CHI08FA066 |
| 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 | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Hawker Beechcraft Corp. |
| Aircraft Model | 58 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | TH-1927 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5500 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 20 2007 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 84.1 |
| Airframe Hours | 2106.4 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | EVERAIR LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 9900 PORTER RD |
| Aircraft Owner City | NIAGARA FALLS |
| Aircraft Owner State | NY |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 14304 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Aitheras Aviation Group |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 1601 North Marginal Road |
| Operator City | Cleveland |
| Operator State | OH |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 44114 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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) | Positioning |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | BKL |
| Departure City | Cleveland |
| Departure State | OH |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1922 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | IAG |
| Destination City | NIAGARA FALLS |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 3 2008 11:44AM |
| User who most recently changed record | male |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |