- Date
- September 28, 1995, 19:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Scotts, MI
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9975AMcclintic-Piercie KR-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 17, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950928035589A
- Case key
- 10046
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 failure to maintain airspeed.
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
Witnesses reported a red airplane flying in the vicinity of the accident site. No eyewitnesses to the accident were located. The smell of fuel permeated the accident site. The blades of the wooden propeller were splintered near the hub. All airframe components were located at the site with no evidence of preimpact structural failure. Examination of control system continuity revealed no evidence of preimpact malfunction. Crush angles and ground scars corresponded to a pitch attitude of approximately 45 degrees nose low, with evidence of rotation to the left.
Factual narrative
On September 28, 1995, about 1900 eastern daylight time, a Mcclintic-Piercie KR-1, N9975A, was destroyed when it impacted the terrain in Scotts, Michigan. The solo private pilot sustained fatal injuries. The planned destination and departure location of the personal, 14 CFR Part 91 flight are unknown. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.
According to witnesses, interviewed by the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department, a "red airplane" was observed flying in the vicinity of the accident site about 1830. The wreckage was discovered about 1900. No eyewitnesses to the accident were located.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspectors who examined the wreckage reported that the smell of fuel permeated the accident site. The blades of the wooden propeller were splintered near the hub. They reported that all airframe components were located at the site with no evidence of preimpact structural failure. Examination of control system continuity revealed no evidence of preimpact malfunction. Crush angles and ground scars corresponded to a pitch attitude of approximately 45 degrees nose low, with evidence of "rotation to the left."
Autopsy of the pilot was conducted at the Bronson Methodist Hospital, 252 E. Lovell Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 49007.
FAA toxicological testing was negative for all tests conducted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9975A
- Reported as
- Mcclintic-Piercie KR-1
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 8671789
- Engine
- Volkswagen, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John M. Yoha
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- Unknown
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
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 200 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AZO, 10 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.