Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pulaski, Wisconsin 54162
Friday, April 4, 2008 12:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that during cruise flight, about 700 feet above the ground, the engine lost power. He stated that he attempted to troubleshoot the power loss to no avail. He then selected a landing site, but did not have sufficient altitude and landed the airplane in trees. The airplane came to rest in the tree tops and had sustained substantial damage due to the impact with the trees. Examination of the engine subsequent to the accident revealed that the spark plug had fallen out of its threaded hole. Examination of the threads revealed that they were loose and had been re-cut at some time in the past.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power during cruise due to the separation of the spark plug because of the loose threads. Contributing to the accident was trees.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/4/2008
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1200
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Pulaski
Event State WISCONSIN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 54162
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 443802N
Event Location Longitude 0881205W
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 Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 10000
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) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 10
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 23726
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 10 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 30 2008 11:48AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N423V
NTSB Number CHI08CA114
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name BARDOUCHE
Aircraft Model QUAD CITY ULTRALIGHT
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1298-CW-0713
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Conditional
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 254
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Gerald J. Bardouche
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Little Suamico
Aircraft Owner State WI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
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? 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 --
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code OCQ
Departure City OCONTO
Departure State WI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 92C
Destination City PULASKI
Destination State WI
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 2 2008 5:28PM
User who most recently changed record DINC
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --