Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Rantoul National Aviation Cntr Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Rantoul, Illinois 61866
Sunday, July 24, 2011 9:20 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A witness reported that the pilot was in a "hurry because a storm front was coming." Another witness reported that the airplane took off and started to turn to the south. He stated that a weather front was arriving at the airport and that strong wind from the northwest appeared to "push the tail of the plane up and the nose down." The airplane descended, impacted power lines and terrain, and subsequently caught fire. The witness indicated that the airplane's engine was producing power until impact.
On the day before departure, the pilot obtained a computerized weather briefing and filed a flight plan; none of the weather briefing products were current at the time of the accident. On the morning of the accident, the area forecast outlook indicated expected thunderstorms during the morning hours in the vicinity of the accident site. Recorded weather information at the departure airport, about the takeoff time, indicated lightning in the distant north and northwest. Recovered pictures taken during passenger boarding and while taxiing to the runway depicted a defined shelf, rotor, or arc cloud, which marked the boundary of the low-level outflow of a storm that was approaching the airport. Dark conditions under the clouds are consistent with approaching precipitation. An on-scene examination revealed no preimpact anomalies with the engine or airframe.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot did not maintain airplane control during takeoff with approaching thunderstorms. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to depart into adverse weather conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/24/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 920 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Rantoul |
| Event State | ILLINOIS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 61866 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 401707N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0880911W |
| Event Location Airport | Rantoul National Aviation Cntr |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TIP |
| 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 | 737 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 915 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 360 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TIP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 737 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Dawn |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 5000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 29 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 24 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 300 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 21 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.06 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KTIP 241415Z AUTO 30014G21KT 10SM SCT050 SCT100 29 |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 3 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29804 |
| 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 | May 16 2012 12:20PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N46TW |
| NTSB Number | CEN11FA500 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA 46-350P |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 4622071 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4318 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 4 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2560.4 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | BUERKETT JON |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | CHAMPAIGN |
| Aircraft Owner State | IL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 61821-7029 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | BUERKETT JON |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | CHAMPAIGN |
| Operator State | IL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 61821-7029 |
| 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 | TIP |
| Departure City | Rantoul |
| Departure State | IL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 920 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | SRQ |
| Destination City | Sarasota |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 4 2012 11:05AM |
| User who most recently changed record | male |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 27 |
| Runway Length | 5000 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |