- Date
- October 9, 1983, 11:47 local (15:47 UTC)
- Place
- Battle Creek, MI
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N22SKKemmeyer Sonerai II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19831009053409A
- Case key
- 12369
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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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 plt flew the home built acft from Battle Creek to marshall, MI to talk to friends. After about 30 min, he took off without refueling. Shortly after the acft departed, a witness on a golf course heard the sound of the eng. He looked up & saw the acft in about a 30 deg climb. Reportedly, the acft climbed aprx 400 to 500 ft, to a height of about 2000 to 3000 ft, then the nose came down slowly & the acft started descending. The witness observed the acft continue descending until the plt started to pull out of the dive. During the pull-out, the right wing folded upward & separated. The acft then went into a rapid spin & crashed. An exam of the wreckage revealed that the right wing had separated at the root. The separated wing had a crease starting at the leading edge wing root & angled outboard & rearward at a 45 deg angle. An exam of the top spar cap showed evidence of buckling prior to wing separation.a log showed that the plt had previously performed aerobatic flt. The acft was not certified for aerobatics.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N22SK
- Reported as
- Kemmeyer Sonerai II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 00052
- Airframe hours
- 91
- Engine
- Volkswagen TYPE I, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Thomas G. Baker
- Last inspection
- Unknown · May 13, 1983 · 24 hours before
- Departed
- BTL · Battle Creek, MI
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 36
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 4,397 total · 25 in this make and model · 2,440 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BTL, 8 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.