# NTSB CHI97LA194: Cessna 170B, N2416D, Karlin, MI, July 5, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 4, 1997, 21:00 local (Jul 5, 1997, 02:00 UTC) - Place: Karlin, MI - Coordinates: 44.639999, -85.830162 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.6400&lon=-85.8302&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 2 fatal - Status: Completed, report September 4, 1998 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 10619 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI97LA194 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/10619/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI97LA194 ## Probable cause the pilot's impairment of judgment and performance due to alcohol, his resultant improper planning/decision, and his inadequate visual lookout while buzzing, which resulted in failure to see-and-avoid the top (ground/static) wires of an electrical power line. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, maneuvering - planning/decision - improper, pilot in command (cause) - impairment(alcohol), pilot in command (cause) - buzzing - performed, pilot in command (cause) - object - wire,static - visual lookout - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled ## Analysis Witnesses observed the airplane flying at low altitude. One witness said the pilot made 3 low passes over or near her home. She said the airplane '...pulled straight up...' and eventually leveled off during the third pass. Another witness observed the airplane pass by the front of (his) house below 100 feet AGL. He said the engine was not sputtering and '...appeared to be functioning properly.' Subsequently, the airplane struck the top (ground) wires of a high tension electrical power line. Shortly after the collision, it impacted a dirt road beneath the wires and began burning. An on-scene examination revealed no anomalies with the flight controls or engine that would have prevented flight. Two ground wires were entangled in the wreckage. Toxicology tests detected ethanol in the pilot's blood at a level of 141.000 mg/dL (0.141%) and in the vitreous fluid at 163 mg/dl (0.163%). Testing also detected tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic acid (an inactive metabolite of marijuana) in the pilot's blood at a level of 0.002 mcg/ml. ## Factual narrative On July 4, 1997, at 2100 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 170B, N2416D, piloted by a commercial pilot, was destroyed during a collision with two overhead ground wires of an electrical power transmission lines, the ground and post-impact fire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The flight departed from Interlochen, Michigan, exact time unknown. One witness, located about 3/4-mile from the accident site, reported seeing the airplane flying between 150 and 300 feet above the ground. This witness said he heard the engine "...sputtering and running roughly, ... making [an] erratic noise until the point that it disappeared," according to the Grand Traverse County Sheriff s Department report. Another witness said she saw "...the airplane, come in low over my house, just above the trees. The airplane made a second pass, [and] on the third pass... the airplane pulled straight up, recovered to level flight and departed... ." Two other witnesses said they saw the airplane flying in their area. One said she saw the airplane "...doing... spins." She said the airplane did a "...spin and leveled off at tree top level... ." The third witness said, "...as the airplane passed across the front of [his] house he would estimate [the airplane s] height to be well under a 100 feet." He said the engine was "...not sputtering, but appeared to be functioning properly... ." Based on a Wolverine Power Supply Company of Cadillac, Michigan, statement, N2416D struck the overhead ground wires about 87 feet above the road where its wreckage was located. According to the Federal Aviation Administration s (FAA) Principal Maintenance Inspector's (PMI) report, two electrical ground wires "...were entangled in the wreckage forward of the main landing gear." The PMI said marks that matched the cable strands were observed on the right landing gear leg. Flight control continuity was established for all three control surfaces. The engine was fire damaged according to the PMI. He said the carburetor heat control was in the COLD position. The throttle arm was in the mid-travel position, and the mixture was full RICH position according to the PMI. He said the magnetos, fuel pump, oil screen housing, and vacuum pump were "...melted beyond recognition." One propeller blade was bent aft about 15 degrees, according to the PMI. He did not observed rotational marks or leading edge gouges on the propeller's leading edges. The engine crankshaft and camshaft rotated when the engine's crankshaft flange was rotated by hand. Three of the four cylinders had thumb compression. Number four cylinder did not have compression because the rocker arms were not releasing the valves. When the remains of the accessory case were removed from the engine, engine oil spilled on the ground. A copy of the pilot's logbook was forwarded by the pilot's family. Examination of the logbook revealed he had 486.8 hours logged. Of this flight time, the logbook showed he had 9.9 hours in the Cessna 170 airplane. The logbook showed the pilot's last flight in any airplane was on August 6, 1995. This flight was in the accident airplane. The pilot had received a Flight Review, according to the entry. One page of the logbook showed the pilot had received a Flight Review on July 14, 1995, and another one on August 6, 1995. There were no other logbook entries beyond the August 6, 1995, date. The pilot's toxicological examination was conducted by the FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The toxicological report showed the pilot had 141.000 (mg/dL, mg/hg) of Ethanol detected in the blood. The report also showed 163.000 (mg/dL, mg/hg) of Ethanol detected in the vitreous fluid and "0.002 ug/mL Tetrahydrocannabinol Carboxylic Acid (Marihuana) was detected in Blood." The pilot's autopsy was conducted by Dr. Stephan D. Cohle at the Blodgett Memorial Medical Center on July 8, 1997. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2416D](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2416D-2013-04-15), registration cancelled 2013-04-15, S/N 20568, built 1952 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 170B - Registry model: [Cessna 170B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-170b) (registry code 2072306) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental C145 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c145-series) (registry code 17012, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 20568 - Airframe hours: 3940 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A1A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Joseph A. Ballanger - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, June 24, 1997 - Departed: Y88, INTERLOCHEN, MI ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 44; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 487 total, 10 in this make and model, 413 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Wind: 290° at 5 knots - Visibility: 25 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 21,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 57 °F, dew point 50 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: TVC, 12 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19970705016779A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970705016779A), Jul 5, 1997: Cessna 170B, Karlin, MI, Destroyed, 2 fatal. Aircraft crashed into wooded area. (.4)witnesses observed the airplane flying at low altitude. One witness said the pilot made 3 low passes over or near her… ## Other investigations on N2416D (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB DIA69F0019](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DIA69F0019-109766), Jul 1, 1968: Cessna 170 (N2416D), Richmond, VA, substantial damage From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.