Armpriest Breezy accident near South Haven, MI
On July 15, 2006, an Armpriest Breezy (airplane) was involved in an accident near South Haven, MI. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 15, 2006
- Place
- South Haven, MI
- Aircraft
- Armpriest Breezy · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 42.351°N, 86.256°W
- NTSB ID
- 20060731X01056
NTSB summary
On July 15, 2006, at 1430 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Armpriest Breezy, N316DA, owned and piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed when it impacted a drainage ditch during an initial climb from takeoff on runway 22 (4,801 feet by 75 feet, asphalt) at South Haven Area Regional Airport (LWA), South Haven, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot sustained serious injuries and the passenger was fatally injured. The flight was originating at the time of the accident and was en route to Mishawaka Pilots Club Airport, Elkhart, Indiana. The pilot reported that during takeoff with about "3/4 of the runway gone, there was a pronounced vibration from [the] engine." The pilot stated he pulled the throttle back to idle but a "substantial" vibration was still present. The pilot reported he shut the engine off and attempted to land on runway 14 (3,275 feet by 190 feet, turf) at LWA. The pilot stated he was unaware of what happened that prevented the flight from being safe. A witness reported he saw the airplane flying about 500 feet above ground level at a heading of approximately 320 magnetic degrees. He reported that the nose of the airplane was moving up and down, and the airplane appeared to be moving slow and stalling. He reported that he saw a shiny, dark blue object, about 2 square feet fall from the airplane. He stated that the airplane made a steep left turn and impacted the ground at approximately a 45 degree pitch angle. A second w
Probable cause
The inadvertent stall by pilot during climb following propeller blade damage from the compartment door separation after takeoff. The low altitude and airspeed not maintained by the pilot were additional causes. Contributing factors were the compartment door separation and the propeller foreign object damage.
More accidents in MI
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82, Aug 17, 1987
- Embraer EMB-120RT, Jan 9, 1997
- Beech 65-A90, Jul 31, 1999
- Casa C-212-CC, Mar 4, 1987
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-14, Dec 3, 1990
Browse: Michigan
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
