# Accident 20020609021509A: Piper PA28180, Macomb, MI, June 9, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 9, 2002, 15:00 local time
- Place: Macomb, MI
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.6608° N, 82.9092° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.6608&lon=-82.9092&mi=10
- Aircraft: N56136, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N56136) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-180 (registry code 7102808, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-180) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28180
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI02FA233](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI02FA233) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020609021509A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON JUNE 9, 2002, AT 1500 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-28-180, N56136, OPERATED BY BERZ FLYING SERVICE, INC., AS A RENTAL AIRPLANE, RETURNED FROM A LOCAL FLIGHT WITH SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE RESULTING FROM A CRACK THROUGH ITS VERTICAL STABILIZER SPAR. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED DURING THE FLIGHT. THE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS NOT OPERATING ON A FLIGHT PLAN. THE PRIVATE RATED RENTAL PILOT WAS UNINJURED. THE LOCAL FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE BERZ-MACOMB AIRPORT (UIZ), MACOMB, MICHIGAN, AT 1400. THE 1973 AIRPLANE, SERIAL NUMBER 28-7305538, WAS USED THROUGHOUT ITS SERVICE LIFE AS A RENTAL/FLIGHT TRAINING AIRPLANE. THE AIRPLANE AND VERTICAL STABILIZER ACCUMULATED A TOTAL TIME OF 14,155 HOURS. ACCORDING TO MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, THE CRACK WAS NOT PRESENT DURING THE AIRPLANE S LAST ANNUAL INSPECTION, WHICH WAS PERFORMED 10 HOURS BEFORE THE FLIGHT. THE CRACK IS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 6 INCHES ABOVE THE BASE OF THE VERTICAL STABILIZER AND EXTENDS HORIZONTALLY APPROXIMATELY 1 1/2 INCHES FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE STABILIZER INTO THE 3 1/2 INCH SPAR. ANOTHER PIPER PA-28-180, N16319, SERIAL NUMBER 28-7305224, OPERATED BY BERZ FLYING SERVICE, INC., RETURNED FROM A LOCAL FLIGHT WITH A SIMILAR CRACK THROUGH ITS VERTICAL STABILIZER.

## 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 CHI02FA233](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI02FA233), Jun 9, 2002: Piper PA-28-180 (N56136), Macomb, MI, substantial damage. Probable cause: The cracked vertical stabilizer and the unapproved maintenance modification to the rudder by company maintenance personnel.

## Other reports on N56136 (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19880503031649I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19880503031649I), May 3, 1988: Piper PA28180 (N56136), Utica, MI. Buzzed a school athlectic meet at a unsafe altitude.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.