- Date
- July 28, 2007, 12:47 local (17:47 UTC)
- Place
- Lakewood, WI
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N914JSSwanson Aventura II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20070728020419A
- Case key
- 66345
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 pilot's excessive pull up, his not maintaining airspeed, and the inadvertent stall resulting in the loss of control. A factor contributing to the accident was the trees.
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
A witness said he saw the pilot make two attempts to take off from a lake. On the third attempt, the witness said the airplane pulled up sharply, leveled off momentarily , and then the left wing "dipped," and the airplane "dropped" and struck trees and then the ground. An examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies.
Factual narrative
On July 28, 2007, about 1247 central daylight time, an experimental amateur-built amphibious Swanson Aventura II airplane, N914JS, sustained substantial damage on impact with trees and terrain near Lakewood, Wisconsin. The personal flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot sustained fatal injuries and the passenger received serious injuries. The flight was originating from Lake John, near Lakewood, Wisconsin, at the time of the accident.
A witness reported to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector that he saw the airplane on the southwest side of the lake start a takeoff roll and abort its takeoff due to a boat. The airplane returned to its starting spot and started another takeoff roll. The airplane aborted this takeoff when it encountered the wake from the boat. The airplane maneuvered into a cove at the northeast end of the lake and started to take off from there. The available takeoff distance from that location was shorter. The witness indicated that the airplane pulled up sharply to clear the trees, leveled off briefly, the left wing "dipped," and the airplane "dropped." The airplane was found with its engine still running.
At 1154, the recorded weather at the Ford Airport, near Iron Mountain/Kingsford, Michigan, was: Wind 250 degrees at 6 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition clear; temperature 28 degrees C; dew point 9 degrees C; altimeter 30.05 inches of mercury.
FAA inspectors examined the wreckage on-scene. The examination revealed no pre-impact anomalies.
The FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute prepared a Final Forensic Toxicology Accident Report. The report stated:
0.579 (ug/mL, ug/g) MIDAZOLAM detected in Liver
MIDAZOLAM NOT detected in Blood
0.064 (ug/mL, ug/g) MIDAZOLAM detected in Kidney
0.04 (ug/mL, ug/g) MIDAZOLAM detected in Spleen
NAPROXEN detected in Blood
LIDOCAINE detected in Blood
EPHEDRINE detected in Blood.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N914JS
- Reported as
- Swanson Aventura II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- AP2A0063
- Engine
- Rotax 912ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jeffrey R. Swanson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- Lakewood, WI
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
- 50
- Injuries
- Fatal
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 650 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- IMT, 30 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 16, 2008, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 154 KB 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.