# Accident 19991024030669A: Amtr MURPHYREBEL, St Johns, MI, October 24, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 24, 1999, 12:30 local time
- Place: St Johns, MI
- Airport: Schiffer Acres Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.0000° N, 84.5510° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.0000&lon=-84.5510&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8160X, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8160X-2001-08-21) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Welch Charles E MURPHY REBEL (registry code 05606KH, https://openairdocs.org/model/welch-charles-e-murphy-rebel) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR MURPHYREBEL
- Reported engine: LYC O235C1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 91 total, 4 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI00LA015](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI00LA015) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19991024030669A

## Narrative

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

(.4) ON OCTOBER 24, 1999, AT 1230 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A WELCH MURPHY REBEL, N8160X, BUILT AND PILOTED BY A PRIVATE PILOT, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE ON IMPACT WITH TREES DURING A GO AROUND ON RUNWAY 25 (3,425 FEET X 120 FEET, DRY/GRASS) AT SCHIFFER ACRES AIRPORT NEAR SAINT JOHNS, MICHIGAN. THE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS OPERATING IN VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. THE PILOT SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM GLOWACKI AIRPORT, NEAR SAINT JOHNS, MICHIGAN AT 1200 AND WAS PERFORMING LANDINGS AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. AT 1255, THE CAPITAL CITY AIRPORT, LANSING, MICHIGAN WEATHER OBSERVATION WAS: WIND 290 DEGREES AT 11 KNOTS; VISIBILITY 10 STATUTE MILES; SKY CONDITION BROKEN 2,500 FEET; TEMPERATURE 4 DEGREES C; DEW POINT 0 DEGREES C; ALTIMETER 30.19 INCHES OF MERCURY. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE ATTEMPTED A 3-POINT LANDING WITH 30 DEGREES OF FLAPS. HE SAID THAT HE ENCOUNTERED TWO GUSTS OF WIND. HE SAID THAT THE FIRST GUST BLEW HIM UP ABOUT 10 FEET AND THE SECOND HAD TURNED HIM 90 DEGREES TO THE LEFT. THE PILOT SAID, "I EASED THE POWER IN UNTIL I WAS GOING IN ONE DIRECTION. AT THIS POINT-GOING DOWN WIND-IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE ENOUGH ROOM TO LAND. I ADDED FULL POWER (SHE NORMALLY WILL CLIMB 11-1200 FPM) BUT I WASN'T CLIMBING-I STILL HAD 30 OF FLAPS-I TOOK ONE NOTCH OFF AND WE STARTED TO CLIMB. I GOT TO 45, TOOK ANOTHER NOTCH OFF, STILL CLIMBING-ALMOST TO THE TOP OF THE TREES-GOT TO 50, DECIDED TO LEAVE LAST 10 OF FLAPS ON UNTIL WE CLEARED THE TREES-AT THE RATE WE WERE CLIMBING. I STARTED TO LEVEL OFF A BIT TO GET A LITTLE MORE AIRSPEED, AT THAT MOMENT I HEARD A BANG. THE FLAP LEVER RELEASED (I MUST NOT HAVE SET THE LEVER ALL THE WAY DOWN IN THE NOTCH) WITH THE FLAPS REMOVED THE PLANE SUNK MAYBE 5'-WE DIDN'T HAVE 5' AND WITH A TAIL WIND IT WAS LIKE BEING PULLED BY A ROPE-YOU ARE JUST ALONG FOR THE RIDE. THE TAIL HIT THE TOP OF THE TREES FIRST...." THE PILOT LISTED 4.4 HOURS OF TOTAL FLIGHT TIME IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL AIRPLANE. (-23) SEE ACCOMPANYING DIAGRAM. AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN AND BOUNCED AT POINT 1, LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL AT POINT 2 AND ATTEMPTED TO GO-AROUND, IMPACTED TREE TOPS AT POINT 4. PILOT SUFFERED COMPOUND FRACTURE TO RIGHT LEG, TOOK APPROXIMATELY 5 HOURS TO CRAWL TO RUNWAY WHERE HE WAS DISCOVERED AND ASSISTED.

## 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 CHI00LA015](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI00LA015), Oct 24, 1999: Welch Murphy Rebel (N8160X), Saint  Johns, MI, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot not maintaining altitude and clearance. Factors were the trees, the flap control not fully engaged, and the pilot's lack of total experience in the kind of airplane flown.

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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