Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Circle T Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Grantsburg, Wisconsin 54840
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 14:00 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The accident flight was the pilot’s first flight in the amateur-built, experimental airplane he had purchased about 7 months prior to the accident. A witness reported that the pilot was taxiing up and down the runway while revving the engine. The witness stated that the engine was missing on at least one cylinder during takeoff. He stated that the airplane climbed and made a left turn directly over his house, clearing it by about 80 feet. While in the turn, the wings dipped to the right, and then the wings dipped to the left “real hard.” The airplane rolled inverted and went down nose first. A Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector examined the wreckage at the accident site. The inspection of the airplane revealed flight control continuity.The engine was a Continental O-200 series engine, but the engine data plate was missing so the exact model and serial number could not be identified. The mechanical and electrical engine controls were present. The magneto P-lead wires were still attached to the ignition switch and magnetos. There was oil in the engine and the crankshaft could rotate but not “very far.” The pilot had a history of depression, anxiety, and sleep apnea, and had been prescribed multiple medications for the conditions. The level of a prescription antidepressant found on post-accident toxicology was more than 10 times higher than expected given the pilot's prescription for the medication. He had broken his left ankle, and had surgical screws placed for the non-healing fracture a week prior to the accident. He had recently taken narcotic and over-the-counter pain medications. The pilot had not reported any of his chronic health problems to the FAA, and it is unlikely that the FAA would have approved medical certification for him had complete information been provided.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during initial climb which resulted in a stall/spin. Contributing to the accident was the degraded engine performance.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/22/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1400 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Grantsburg |
| Event State | WISCONSIN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 54840 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 454102N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0924113W |
| Event Location Airport | Circle T Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | WS77 |
| 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 | 895 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1352 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 20 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MSP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 841 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 60 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2600 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.91 |
| 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) | 26413 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-ROC-AGL |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 9 2010 2:18PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N232PE |
| NTSB Number | CEN09LA263 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Laseure |
| Aircraft Model | Sonerai II |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 406 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1150 |
| 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 | 1 |
| 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 | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Michael Shute |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 21118 East River rd. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Grantsburg |
| Aircraft Owner State | WI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 54840 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Michael Shute |
| 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 | USA |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | WS77 |
| Departure City | Grantsburg |
| Departure State | WI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1400 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | WS77 |
| Destination City | Grantsburg |
| Destination State | WI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 23 2009 11:55AM |
| User who most recently changed record | silj |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 27 |
| Runway Length | 2115 |
| Runway Width | 96 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |