- Date
- September 30, 1990, 14:20 local (19:20 UTC)
- Place
- Kankakee, IL
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N75FMJeff Pierson Pierson Pusher
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 12, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900930043909A
- Case key
- 14456
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
A loss of engine power due to activation of carburetor choke and an inadvertent stall during the forced 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
A homebuilt airplane on takeoff climbout was observed with main gear retracted and nose gear extended. Witnesses recount the engine sputtering, followed by a stall and a uncontrolled descent to ground. The carburetor choke plate was found closed. The pilot had installed a positive downlock on the nosegear to prevent retraction unless a pull-to-release handle in the cockpit were used. The handle to enable nosegear retraction resembled the choke handle.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N75FM
- Reported as
- Jeff Pierson Pierson Pusher (PIERSON PU)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1
- Airframe hours
- 28
- Engine
- Ford 3.8 V6, 215 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Muntwyler, Frederic C.
- Registered owner
- Jacqueline Muntwyler Trustee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- IKK · Kankakee, runway 4, 5,985 × 100 ft, concrete
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
- 78
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,546 total · 28 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 6 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- 700 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IKK, 1 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.