Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Pillow Hill Airstrip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Spring Grove, Illinois 60081
Sunday, August 31, 2008 17:05 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that he taxied the two-seat Cessna 150 airplane from the hangar onto the privately owned 2,000-foot grass airstrip and departed to the north. A witness stated that he observed the airplane take off, but that it was slower than usual. The witness stated that the airplane usually gained altitude quickly after takeoff, but it seemed to nose-up and began "plowing forward" without gaining altitude. The airplane banked hard left and hit some trees. The airplane nosed over when it impacted the ground. The pilot, his son, and his 18-month-old grandson received minor injuries. The pilot reported that the engine was operating properly. The inspection of the airplane revealed no pre-existing anomalies to the airframe or engine. The pilot indicated that there were 100-foot trees north of the departure end of the runway, but that there were no obstacles to the south. The winds were from the east at about 9 knots. The local temperature was about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, which produced a density altitude of about 2,914 feet. The pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented by a "more thorough assessment of density altitude and choice of runway heading for departure."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and his failure to maintain clearance from the trees. Contributing factors were the trees and the high density altitude.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/31/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1705 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Spring Grove |
| Event State | ILLINOIS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 60081 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 422711N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0881218W |
| Event Location Airport | Pillow Hill Airstrip |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 3LL4 |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -- |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | -- |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 24505 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | -- |
| User who most recently changed record | -- |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N50753 |
| NTSB Number | CHI08CA276 |
| 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 | -- |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 150J |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 15069530 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1600 |
| 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 | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | -- |
| ELT Activated | -- |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | -- |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Samuel F. Hutchinson |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Fennimore |
| Aircraft Owner State | WI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 53809 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Samuel F. Hutchinson |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Fennimore |
| Operator State | WI |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 53809 |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Spring Grove |
| Departure State | IL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1705 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 3LL4 |
| Destination City | Spring Grove |
| Destination State | IL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 8 2008 10:38AM |
| User who most recently changed record | silj |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 360 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |