ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 42398
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| Date: | Thursday 29 October 1998 |
| Time: | 16:00 LT |
| Type: | C.B. Withun T-BIRD II |
| Owner/operator: | Curtis B. Withun |
| Registration: | N72145 |
| MSN: | 001 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1 hours |
| Engine model: | Rotax 582 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | New Haven, MI -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | , MI (57D) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot of the homebuilt experimental airplane advised air traffic that he was doing high speed taxi testing on runway 18. Shortly after making this announcement, a witness said he saw the airplane takeoff downwind on runway 36. Witnesses near the airport said they saw the airplane at a low altitude as it was climbing onto a downwind leg. One witness said the airplane was about 100 to 200-feet above the trees when it suddenly '...dropped nose down into the trees.' The on-scene investigation revealed the pusher propeller had a blade root angle set to 43-degrees at the hub. The propeller manufacturer said the blade angle for the propeller should normally be between seven and 14-degrees at its tip. With a 43-degree angle at the blade's root, the blade's tip angle would be about 20.5-degrees, according to the manufacturer's representative. No anomalies with the engine, airframe or flight control system were observed that would prevent flight.
Probable Cause: the improper installation of the propeller by the owner/pilot- mechanic and the pilot not maintaining the airplane's airspeed while approaching the trees along the airplane's flight path. A factor in this accident was the stall encountered by the pilot.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB CHI99LA013
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 04-Apr-2024 14:46 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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