Sebewaing Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sebewaing, Michigan 48759
Monday, October 18, 2010 17:49 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A certified flight instructor was conducting a flight review with a private pilot who was the airplane owner. One witness, who was a pilot, observed the takeoff roll and reported that the engine sounded normal. Another witness, who lived near the accident site, observed the airplane takeoff and climb above power lines that were south of the departure end of the runway. The witness reported that the airplane's engine "sputtered" and the airplane banked to the left. The airplane then turned back toward the airport and the engine lost power completely. The airplane subsequently nose dived into a cornfield and a postcrash fire ensued. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed one propeller blade with a chordwise abrasion and leading edge nicks. No anomalies were found with the engine or the other airplane systems. Examination of the accident site revealed no damage to the powerlines that surrounded the area. Additionally, there was a suitable forced landing area straight ahead on the departure flight path, south of the power lines that bounded the cornfield.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed and aircraft control following a loss of engine power after takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/18/2010
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1749
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Sebewaing
Event State MICHIGAN
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 48759
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 434345N
Event Location Longitude 0832745W
Event Location Airport Sebewaing Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 98G
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 584
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1755 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 177
Weather Observation Facility ID CFS
Elevation of weather observation facility 701
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 16
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 8000
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) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.96
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 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 28801
NTSB Notification Source FAA-AGL-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 6 2011 11:38AM
User who most recently changed record rows
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N105AC
NTSB Number CEN11FA029
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 American Champion Aircraft
Aircraft Model 8KCAB
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 647-91
Certified Max Gross Weight 1800
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 11 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 975
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name ALLAN C LUMLEY
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City LAPEER
Aircraft Owner State MI
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 48446-9460
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name ALLAN C LUMLEY
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City LAPEER
Operator State MI
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 48446-9460
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code D95
Departure City Lapeer
Departure State MI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1700
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code D95
Destination City Lapeer
Destination State MI
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 18 2011 6:05PM
User who most recently changed record male
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 2178
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --