NTSB Identification: CEN15FA386
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, August 27, 2015 in Battle Creek, MI
Aircraft: BARROW TED A ONE EASY, registration: N227TB
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On August 27, 2015, about 2017 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt One Easy, N227TB, impacted terrain at the W K Kellogg airport (KBTL), Battle Creek, Michigan. The airplane was destroyed and the private rated pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Gospelnet, Inc., under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and the airplane was not on a flight plan. The flight was originating from KBTL at the time of the accident.
The airplane and pilot had arrived earlier that day; people who met the pilot reported that there was oil on the back of the airplane. They added the pilot wiped the oil off the airplane and recalled that the pilot stated he had not put the engine oil cap on tight.
About 2000, a witness saw the pilot arrive at the airport and proceed to his plane. While trying to exit the FBO (Fixed Based Operator) ramp, a business jet was entering the ramp; once the accident pilot moved his airplane to the side, the jet entered the ramp and the accident pilot started taxiing towards the runway for departure.
A little later an FBO employee, who was watching the accident plane depart, got another employee's attention, adding that the airplane was "bouncing" back and forth. She noticed the airplane, and saw that the wings were rocking back and forth during the takeoff. Once airborne, the airplane turned around and came back to the runway for a landing. She did not see the crash, because a parked airplane blocked her view.
Prior to the accident, the tower controller cleared the pilot to taxi to runway 23R. Then shortly afterwards, cleared the airplane for takeoff. The operator reported that airplane wandered on the runway and did not track a straight line; then continued to fly erratically once airborne. The airplane made a 180-degree turn and flew back down runway 5L, before making another 180-degree turn, towards runway 23R. The controller added that the airplane made a sudden nosedive, during the turn towards the runway and impacted the ground.
The airport's security cameras caught sections of the accident sequence and the video was retained for further review. After an initial documentation of the airplane wreckage, the wreckage was removed to a hangar for further examination.
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, August 27, 2015 in Battle Creek, MI
Aircraft: BARROW TED A ONE EASY, registration: N227TB
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On August 27, 2015, about 2017 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt One Easy, N227TB, impacted terrain at the W K Kellogg airport (KBTL), Battle Creek, Michigan. The airplane was destroyed and the private rated pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Gospelnet, Inc., under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and the airplane was not on a flight plan. The flight was originating from KBTL at the time of the accident.
The airplane and pilot had arrived earlier that day; people who met the pilot reported that there was oil on the back of the airplane. They added the pilot wiped the oil off the airplane and recalled that the pilot stated he had not put the engine oil cap on tight.
About 2000, a witness saw the pilot arrive at the airport and proceed to his plane. While trying to exit the FBO (Fixed Based Operator) ramp, a business jet was entering the ramp; once the accident pilot moved his airplane to the side, the jet entered the ramp and the accident pilot started taxiing towards the runway for departure.
A little later an FBO employee, who was watching the accident plane depart, got another employee's attention, adding that the airplane was "bouncing" back and forth. She noticed the airplane, and saw that the wings were rocking back and forth during the takeoff. Once airborne, the airplane turned around and came back to the runway for a landing. She did not see the crash, because a parked airplane blocked her view.
Prior to the accident, the tower controller cleared the pilot to taxi to runway 23R. Then shortly afterwards, cleared the airplane for takeoff. The operator reported that airplane wandered on the runway and did not track a straight line; then continued to fly erratically once airborne. The airplane made a 180-degree turn and flew back down runway 5L, before making another 180-degree turn, towards runway 23R. The controller added that the airplane made a sudden nosedive, during the turn towards the runway and impacted the ground.
The airport's security cameras caught sections of the accident sequence and the video was retained for further review. After an initial documentation of the airplane wreckage, the wreckage was removed to a hangar for further examination.