# Accident 19970705016779A: Cessna 170B, Karlin, MI, July 5, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 5, 1997, 21:00 local time
- Place: Karlin, MI
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.6400° N, 85.8302° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.6400&lon=-85.8302&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2416D, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2416D-2013-04-15) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 170B (registry code 2072306, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-170b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental C145 series (registry code 17012, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c145-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 170B
- Reported engine: LYC O360A1A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 407 total, 10 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI97LA194](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97LA194) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970705016779A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO WOODED AREA. (.4)WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE FLYING AT LOW ALTITUDE. ONE WITNESS SAID THE PILOT MADE 3 LOW PASSES OVER OR NEAR HER HOME. SHE SAID THE AIRPLANE '...PULLED STRAIGHT UP...' AND EVENTUALLY LEVELED OFF DURING THE THIRD PASS. ANOTHER WITNESS OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE PASS BY THE FRONT OF (HIS) HOUSE BELOW 100 FEET AGL. HE SAID THE ENGINE WAS NOT SPUTTERING AND  '...APPEARED TO BE FUNCTIONING PROPERLY.'  SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRPLANE STRUCK THE TOP (GROUND) WIRES OF A HIGH TENSION ELECTRICAL POWER LINE. SHORTLY AFTER THE COLLISION, IT IMPACTED A DIRT ROAD BENEATH THE WIRES AND BEGAN BURNING. AN ON-SCENE EXAMINATION REVEALED NO ANOMALIES WITH THE FLIGHT CONTROLS OR ENGINE THAT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED FLIGHT. TWO GROUND WIRES WERE ENTANGLED IN THE WRECKAGE. TOXICOLOGY TESTS DETECTED ETHANOL IN THE PILOT'S BLOOD AT A LEVEL OF 141.000 MG/DL (0.141%) AND IN THE VITREOUS FLUID AT 163 MG/DL (0.163%). TESTING ALSO DETECTED TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL CARBOXYLIC ACID (AN INACTIVE METABOLITE OF MARIJUANA) IN THE PILOT'S BLOOD AT A LEVEL OF 0.002 MCG/ML.        (-23) THE AIRCRAFT FLEW INTO HIGH TENSION POWER LINES AND CRASHED.  WITNESS                                        SES STATED THAT THEY HAD OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT FLYING LOW IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA JUST PRIOR TO THE CRASH.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI97LA194](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97LA194), Jul 5, 1997: Cessna 170B (N2416D), Karlin, MI, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's impairment of judgment and performance due to alcohol, his resultant improper planning/decision, and his inadequate visual lookout while buzzing, which resulted in failure to…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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