Mills Michael S1L accident near Dewitt, MI
On March 22, 2018, a Mills Michael S1L (airplane) was involved in an accident near Dewitt, MI. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- March 22, 2018
- Place
- Dewitt, MI
- Aircraft
- Mills Michael S1L · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 42.887°N, 84.720°W
- NTSB ID
- 20180319X90457
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn March 22, 2018, about 1830 eastern daylight time, an amateur-built Star-Lite S1L airplane, N197X, collided with power lines while attempting to land at a private airstrip near Dewitt, Michigan. The pilot initially survived the accident but later succumb to his injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight. While on short final to the pilot's private airstrip, landing to the west, the airplane collided with power lines about 200 ft short of the runway. The airplane then descended and impacted terrain. According to information obtained by the responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, prior to the accident, the pilot flew to another airport to visit a friend. The friend stated that the pilot said he needed to leave by a certain time, or he would have problems with sun glare during landing to his private strip. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe position of the sun at the time of the accident was 14° above the horizon at a relative azimuth of 257° to the pilot during the approach. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe airplane impacted a field east of the airstrip. The fuselage and both wings were wrinkled and deformed. An examination of the airplane by the FAA inspector confirmed flight control continuity to from the cockpit controls to the respective flight control surfaces. No anomalies were detected with
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to see and avoid power lines due to sun glare.
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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.
