# Accident 20020123000959A: Cessna 402B, Sturgis, MI, January 23, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 23, 2002, 07:35 local time
- Place: Sturgis, MI
- Airport: Kirsch Municipal Airport
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: BLIA
- Location: 41.8975° N, 85.1833° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.8975&lon=-85.1833&mi=10
- Aircraft: N371JD, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N371JD-2002-07-02) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 402B (registry code 207590P, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-402b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental TSIO-520 series (registry code 17040, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 402B
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI02FA067](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI02FA067) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020123000959A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON JANUARY 23, 2002, ABOUT 0735 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 402B, N371JD, PILOTED BY A COMMERCIAL PILOT, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED THE GROUND NEAR BRONSON, MICHIGAN. A WITNESS DESCRIBED THE AIRPLANE MANEUVERING AT A LOW ALTITUDE JUST PRIOR TO IMPACT. THE 14 CFR PART 91 POSITIONING FLIGHT WAS OPERATING ON AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT PLAN IN INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. THE PILOT, WHO WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE KIRSCH MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, STURGIS, MICHIGAN ABOUT 0730 AND WAS BOUND FOR THE ANN ARBOR MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN. A WITNESS TO THE ACCIDENT DESCRIBED THE AIRPLANE FLYING SOUTH AT ABOUT 200 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND AND THEN TURNING BACK TO THE NORTH. HE SAID THAT HE SAW THE AIRPLANE MAKING A DESCENDING LEFT TURN BACK TO THE WEST WHEN THE AIRPLANE PULLED UP SHARPLY AND THEN PITCHED NOSE DOWN AND IMPACTED THE GROUND. HE SAID THERE WAS A LARGE EXPLOSION AND FIREBALL. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND AT COORDINATES 41 DEGREES 53.845 MINUTES NORTH, 85 DEGREES 11.005 MINUTES WEST.                                                                                                                       (-23) AIRCRAFT CRASHED SHORTLY AFTER TAKE-OFF FROM STURGIS, MICHIGAN AIRPORT WHILE IN A CLIMB. IMPACT WAS 6 MILES S.W. OF COLDWATER, MICHIGAN. PILOT WAS KILLED.

## 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 CHI02FA067](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI02FA067), Jan 23, 2002: Cessna 402B (N371JD), Bronson, MI, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The maneuver to avoid the utility wire while maneuvering resulting in an inadvertent stall and subsequent impact with the ground. Factors were the pilot's inadvertent activation of the elevator trim,…

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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