- Date
- May 11, 1989, 09:05 local (13:05 UTC)
- Place
- Tecumseh, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N32340Porterfield CP-55
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 29, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890511011559A
- Case key
- 14348
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
Pilot's inadequate preflight operatins, which failed to detect the presence of water contamination in the fuel system, and resulted in the substantial loss of power and subsequent forced landing. The aircraft encountered soft, loose soil during the forced landing and flipped over.
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
While in normal cruise flight at about 800 feet AGL, the engine started to lose power and run rough. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude, and selected a newly plowed field for a forced landing site. The aircraft's main landing gear sank into the soft soil during the landing roll and the aircraft nosed over. Post-accident inspection revealed water contamination in the fuel system.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N32340
- Reported as
- Porterfield CP-55
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 798
- Airframe hours
- 2,736
- Engine
- Continental A65-8, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Rothfuss, George H.
- Registered owner
- Rothfuss, George H
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 1988 · 13 hours before
- Departed
- ADG · Adrian, MI
- Destination
- 3TE · Tecumseh, MI
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 170 total · 8 in this make and model · 114 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 12 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JXN, 29 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.