- Date
- May 16, 2001, 19:40 local (May 17, 2001, 00:40 UTC)
- Place
- Brussels, IL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N38646Piper J5A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 4, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20010516010779A
- Case key
- 52293
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 partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons and the high vegitation encountered during the precautionary landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane nosed over during a precautionary landing. The pilot reported he was practicing a simulated emergency landing approach. He reported he had pulled out the carburetor heat during the simulated emergency landing and cleared the engine during the approach. He terminated the maneuver at 300 feet above ground level (agl). When he advanced the throttle there was no response for a "short period of time, then a halting or missing response." He reported the engine made a "hesitating acceleration." The airplane was about 200 feet agl and he made a decision to land and check the fuel and engine. The airplane touched down at 65 mph. He reported the vegetation was much taller than he perceived, and the airplane decelerated rapidly and nosed over. The engine was examined and exhibited no preexisting anomalies. The engine was tested and it ran between idle power and 2,600 rpm's.
Factual narrative
On May 16, 2001, at 1940 central daylight time, a Piper J5A, N38646, operated by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damaged when it nosed over during the landing roll following a precautionary landing. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight had departed St. Charles (3SQ), Missouri, at 1930 on a local flight. The precautionary landing was made to an unnamed grass airstrip in the Two Rivers National Wildlife Area near Brussels, Illinois. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.
The pilot reported he was practicing a simulated emergency landing approach. He reported he had pulled out the carburetor heat during the simulated emergency landing and cleared the engine during the approach. He terminated the maneuver at 300 feet above ground level (agl). He reported that when he advanced the throttle there was no response for a "short period of time, then a halting or missing response." He reported the engine made a "hesitating acceleration." The airplane was about 200 feet agl and he made a decision to land and check the fuel and engine. The airplane touched down at 65 mph. He reported the vegetation was much taller than he perceived and the airplane decelerated rapidly and nosed over.
The engine was examined and exhibited no preexisting anomalies. The engine was tested and it ran between idle power and 2,600 rpm.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N38646
- Reported as
- Piper J5A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5-1031
- Airframe hours
- 3,456
- Engine
- Continental A-75-8, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Cub, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 2000 · 25 hours before
- Departed
- 3SQ · St Charles, MO
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
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- January 31, 2001
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 4,234 total · 129 in this make and model · 3,620 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.65 inHg
- Observed at
- STL, 14 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.