Ryan ST3KR N59220

Summary

On 22 July 2007 at about 15:00 local time, a Ryan ST3KR registered N59220 was involved in an accident near Coldwater, Michigan, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 July 2007 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Coldwater, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Branch County (OEB)

Coordinates

41.9336, -85.0525

Aircraft

Ryan ST3KR

Registration

N59220

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Coldwater → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI07CA225

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush condition. A contributing factor was the low altitude at the time of the inadvertent stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted terrain after takeoff from runway 16 (2,400 feet by 190 feet, turf). The pilot reported that they had stopped at the accident airport for fuel. At the time of their initial approach and landing winds aloft were from the east; however, surface winds were from the west. They subsequently landed on runway 25 (5,350 feet by 75 feet, asphalt) without incident. The pilot stated that after fueling surface winds had reversed direction. They were now from the east at 8 to 10 knots. He elected to use runway 16 for takeoff because he felt the airplane "handled better on grass." The pilot reported that when the airplane lifted off, it "felt light" and "loose controlled" so he lowered the nose in order to gain airspeed. He noted feeling a "slight bump or lift followed by a rapid drop of [the] left wing and nose." The airplane subsequently impacted the ground. Examination of the flight control system did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a pre-impact failure. Winds recorded by the departure airport Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) within 5 minutes of the accident were from 140 degrees at 4 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.