- Date
- August 19, 1988, 17:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Deckerville, MI
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N33131Sackett J2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880819039639A
- Case key
- 13849
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 poor judgement and misjudged perceptions while practicing takeoffs and landings in an unfamiliar aircraft. The pilot executed a hard landing, touching down short of the runway and collapsing the landing gear. The aircraft skidded to a stop on the runway, and a post-impact fire ensued. The pilot's lack of flight experience in the accident make and model aircraft was a contributing factor.
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 pilot stated that he was attempting a power-off landing in an aircraft in which he had very little flight experience. He stated that while on short final the aircraft 'was sinking faster than I realized... .' The aircraft impacted the ground short of the runway, and the landing gear collapsed. The aircraft skidded to a stop on the runway; a post-impact fire ensued, and the aircraft was destroyed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N33131
- Reported as
- Sackett J2
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 200
- Airframe hours
- 146
- Engine
- Franklin 6A4-150-B3, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Harvey W Thompson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 28, 1988 · 2 hours before
- Airport
- 56G · Lamont, runway 9, 5,217 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 73
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 272 total · 2 in this make and model · 272 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MBS, 63 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.