# Accident 20030517010919A: Piper PA11, Lac Du Flambeau, WI, May 17, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 17, 2003, 17:50 local time
- Place: Lac Du Flambeau, WI
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 45.8831° N, 90.0003° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.8831&lon=-90.0003&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4711U, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4711U) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-11 (registry code 7101102, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-11) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA11
- Reported engine: CONT C8512F
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,564 total, 4 in this make and model, 79 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI03LA136](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI03LA136) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030517010919A

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER DEPARTED FLAMBEAU LAKE (APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE SOUTHWEST OF LAC DU FLAMBEAU, WI) TO THE SOUTH. AFTER THE AIRCRAFT BECAME AIRBORNE, THE AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED SINKING AIR WHILE IN A LAKE COVE NEAR THE SHORELINE. WHEN IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT GOING TO CLEAR THE LINE OF TREES AT THE SHORELINE, THE PILOT RETARDED THE ENGINE POWER TO IDLE, STRUCK A TREE WITH THE LEFT WING, AND LANDED HARD ON A FLOATING BOG. THERE WAS SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE LEFT WING SPAR, LOWER FUSELAGE STRUCTURE, AND THE WING AND FLOAT STRUTS. PILOT INDICATED THAT THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRCRAFT.

## 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 CHI03LA136](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI03LA136), May 17, 2003: Piper PA-11 (N4711U), Minocqua, WI, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to attain a proper climb rate during takeoff. A factor to the accident was the tree.

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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