Accident Cessna 170B N2416D,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 42115
 
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Date:Friday 4 July 1997
Time:21:00 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic C170 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Cessna 170B
Owner/operator:Joseph A. Ballanger
Registration: N2416D
MSN: 20568
Total airframe hrs:3940 hours
Engine model:Lycoming O-360-A1A
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Category:Accident
Location:Karlin, MI -   United States of America
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Interlochen, MI (Y88)
Destination airport:
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
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.

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.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CHI97LA194
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 2 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB CHI97LA194

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
24-Oct-2008 10:30 ASN archive Added
21-Dec-2016 19:24 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
08-Apr-2024 14:25 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report]

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