- Date
- January 29, 2022, 13:40 local (19:40 UTC)
- Place
- Hortonville, WI · Snowplowed airstrip on Black Otter Lake
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N544WMVans RV4
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20220129001049A
- Case key
- 104583
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The loss of direction control while maneuvering off the plowed surface to avoid a collision with a vehicle.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
While landing on a frozen lake, the pilot observed a van at the end of the plowed airstrip. The pilot did not know the driver’s intention and decided to steer the airplane off the plowed area into the snow to slow the airplane before getting close to the van. The right tire hit a frozen obstruction and the airplane turned right and nosed down. Substantial damage was sustained to an engine mount and the lower firewall. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions that contributed to the accident. The pilot stated that he did not realize that the snow at the edge was so frozen and deep.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N544WM
- Reported as
- Vans RV4
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 3358
- Built
- 2012
- Airframe hours
- 659
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Campbell Greg L
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · January 17, 2022 · 0.6 hours before
- Departed
- PCZ · Waupaca, WI
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- N/A · Black Otter Lake, runway 35, 2,500 × 100 ft, ice
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display, Angle of attack indicator, Electronic primary flight display, Onboard weather, Satellite tracking device, Stall warning system, ADS-B
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 4, 2020
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 941.7 total · 378.8 in this make and model · 946.4 as pilot in command · 17.7 in the last 90 days · 1.8 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 17 °F, dew point 9 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 20, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.7 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.