Piper PA-28R-201 accident near Curran, MI
On May 2, 1999, a Piper PA-28R-201 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Curran, MI. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 2, 1999
- Place
- Curran, MI
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28R-201 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 44.711°N, 83.800°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X18705
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 2, 1999, at 1045 eastern daylight time (edt) a Piper PA- 28R-201, N5274A, operated by a private pilot was destroyed when just after takeoff, the airplane departed controlled flight and impacted into a wooded area. A post-impact fire ensued. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. No flight plan was on file. The first pilot, pilot-rated passenger, and passenger in the rear seat, were fatally injured. The cross- country flight originated at a private airstrip located, 2 miles north of Curran, Michigan, and was en route to Detroit, Michigan. The pilot's father stated that the pilot had flown the airplane to the airstrip for the first time on April 30, 1999. The following day, the pilot took off from the airstrip, with his father-in-law, on a local flight. On his return, the pilot told his father that he was "leery of the trees" which bordered the east end of the airstrip. The pilot told his father that he didn't know by how much he had cleared the trees during the takeoff performed on May 1, 1999. The pilot wanted to know, so he asked his father if he would position himself along the runway and watch his next takeoff, which was the one on which the accident occurred. The pilot's father, positioned near the departure end and south edge of the runway, watched the pilot taxi to the west end of the runway. He said that he watched the airplane sit there for 4 to 5 minutes while his son went through his checks. Then he watched the airplane make its takeoff run. The
Probable cause
the inadvertent stall/mush. Factor which contributed to this accident were the pilot's inadequate preflight planning, the premature lift-off during the takeoff, the airplane's low airspeed following lift-off, and the trees.
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Browse: Michigan · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
