C B Withun T-BIRD II N72145

Summary

On 29 October 1998 at about 19:00 local time, a C B Withun T-BIRD II registered N72145 was involved in an accident near New Haven, Michigan, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 October 1998 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

New Haven, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

MacOmb Airport (57D)

Coordinates

42.7303, -82.7898

Aircraft

C B Withun T-BIRD II

Registration

N72145

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI99LA013

1 person died.

the improper installation of the propeller by the owner/pilot- mechanic and the pilot not maintaining the airplane's airspeed while approaching the trees along the airplane's flight path. A factor in this accident was the stall encountered by the pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the homebuilt experimental airplane advised air traffic that he was doing high speed taxi testing on runway 18. Shortly after making this announcement, a witness said he saw the airplane takeoff downwind on runway 36. Witnesses near the airport said they saw the airplane at a low altitude as it was climbing onto a downwind leg. One witness said the airplane was about 100 to 200-feet above the trees when it suddenly '...dropped nose down into the trees.' The on-scene investigation revealed the pusher propeller had a blade root angle set to 43-degrees at the hub. The propeller manufacturer said the blade angle for the propeller should normally be between seven and 14-degrees at its tip. With a 43-degree angle at the blade's root, the blade's tip angle would be about 20.5-degrees, according to the manufacturer's representative. No anomalies with the engine, airframe or flight control system were observed that would prevent flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.