NTSB Identification: CEN12LA466
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, July 22, 2012 in Cross Lake, MN
Probable Cause Approval Date: 08/13/2013
Aircraft: TOMAN JACK JR SKYSTAR KITFOX 4, registration: N602JT
Injuries: 1 Fatal,1 Serious.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The airplane was observed flying low and slow over a lake. The airplane stalled and entered a spin before it impacted the water. The passenger was able to exit the airplane on his own, but the pilot was pinned in the wreckage. A first responder was able to keep the pilot's head above the water until an ambulance arrived, but the pilot later succumbed to his injuries. Examination of the airplane and engine found no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The medical examiner found drug paraphernalia in the pilot's shirt pocket. Postaccident toxicology testing was consistent with impairment of the pilot due to his use of marijuana prior to the accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's impairment due to marijuana.
On July 22, 2012, at 0951 central daylight time, an experimental-amateur built Sky Star Kitfox 4 sustained substantial damage after it lost control and impacted Upper Whitefish Lake near Cross Lake, Minnesota. The private pilot was fatally injured and the passenger was seriously injured. No flight plan was filed for the local flight that departed from Pine River Regional Airport (PWC), Pine River, Minnesota, at 0938. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The passenger stated the purpose of the flight was to look for fishing spots in the lake and check out some property on the shoreline. The passenger said that as they headed toward the shoreline, the airplane was in a slight nose up attitude and climbing, but he did not recall how fast they were going. The doors of the airplane were open, and the passenger was looking outside "watching everything." Up to this point, it was a normal flight. He said that the airplane then suddenly jerked violently to the left, rolled, and spun down toward the lake. As soon as they hit the water, the passenger unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the airplane. Almost immediately, a boat pulled up and he was lifted onto the boat.
There were several eyewitnesses who saw the airplane spin toward the water. One witness, who had taken flight lessons, was in his boat when he first observed the airplane. He said it was flying about twice the height of the tree tops and was headed east. The witness said the airplane's attitude was tail down and nose high. The airplane appeared to be "wallowing" and about to stall. The witness momentarily took his eyes off the airplane, but when he looked back up, the airplane was spinning nose down toward the water. He immediately drove his boat to the accident site and assisted the passenger and the pilot.
A handheld Garmin global positioning system (GPS) was found in the airplane and sent to the Safety Board’s Research and Engineering laboratory in Washington DC to be downloaded. The accident flight was recorded from the time it departed Pine River Regional Airport at 0938.28 up until 0951.13 when the unit stopped recording. A review of the last minute of the flight revealed that at 0950:20, the airplane was at an altitude of 1,624 feet mean sea level (msl), or approximately 328 feet above the water headed southeast at a ground speed of 39 knots. Over the next 53 seconds, the airplane began to make a shallow descent to 1,496 feet msl (approximately 200 feet above the water) and slowed to a ground speed of 34 knots before the data ended just northwest of the shoreline.
Examination of the airplane by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors revealed the airframe sustained substantial damage from impact with the water. No pre-impact mechanical anomalies were noted.
According to the pilot's autopsy report, the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries resulting from an airplane crash. No significant natural disease was identified, but the medical examiner identified an object found in the left shirt pocket as a “one hit” pipe.
The toxicology results from an independent lab used by the medical examiner found evidence of tetrahydrocannabinol (Marijuana) in the urine and performed a test that quantified the amount in the pilot’s peripheral blood with a result of 0.0056 ug/ml ,along with 0.0059 ug/ml of its primary metabolite, tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic acid.
Femoral and heart blood was sent to the FAA's Civil AeroMedical Institute’s toxicology lab in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, along with tissue specimens. The CAMI lab found the blood unsuitable for the quantification of tetrahydrocannabinol. However, 0.046 ug/ml of tetrahydrocannabinol was found in lung and tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic acid, the primary metabolite, was found in urine (0.0952 ug/ml), liver (0.0873 ug/ml), lung (0.0094 ug/ml), and blood (0.0111 ug/ml).
NTSB Identification: CEN12LA466
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, July 22, 2012 in Cross Lake, MN
Aircraft: TOMAN JACK JR SKYSTAR KITFOX 4, registration: N602JT
Injuries: 1 Fatal,1 Serious.
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 may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On June 22, 2012, at 1103 central daylight time, an experimental-amateur built Sky Star Kitfox 4 sustained substantial damage after it lost control and impacted the water near Cross Lake, Minnesota. The private pilot was fatally injured and the passenger was seriously injured. No flight plan was filed for the local flight that departed from Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport (BRD), Brainerd, Minnesota, and an undetermined time. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector performed an on-scene examination of the airplane and talked to several witnesses. According to the inspector, the airplane was observed flying about 300-500 feet above the lake and it appeared to be in a slight climb. The airplane then banked hard to the left and entered a nose dive into the water. The airplane sustained substantial damage to most of the airframe.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 602JT Make/Model: EXP Description: EXP- KITFOX
Date: 07/22/2012 Time: 1442
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: CROSS LAKE State: MN Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES. CROSS LAKE, MN
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 0 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 1
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Pleasure Phase: Maneuver Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: MINNEAPOLIS, MN (GL15) Entry date: 07/23/2012
Frederick Hammer of Crosslake, the passenger who was injured Sunday in the small airplane crash, was expecting to go home Wednesday.
Crosslake resident Dan Steffen was killed Sunday when the small aircraft
he was flying crashed on Upper Whitefish Lake near Crosslake.
The wreckage of a Skystar Kitfox lies in the water of Upper Whitefish Lake near Crosslake Monday. The plane crashed into the water at 9:52 a.m. Sunday killing the pilot Dan Morgan Steffen, 55, and injuring the passenger Frederick Graham Hammer Jr., 61,. The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office, FAA and the NTSB are conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
To Frederick “Rick” Hammer Jr., Dan Steffen was not only a friend, he was like a member of his family.
Steffen, 55, Crosslake, died Sunday morning after his small airplane crashed into Upper Whitefish Lake near Crosslake. Hammer, 61, of Crosslake, was Steffen’s passenger and suffered extensive injuries in the crash. In a telephone interview Wednesday from his hospital bed at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Hammer said Steffen would be greatly missed by all who knew him.
“Dan was a very good friend of ours,” said Hammer, who expected to go home Wednesday. “We’ve known each other since the late ‘70s. We did a lot of snowmobiling together, a lot of guy stuff together.”
Hammer said that he and Steffen have flown in plenty of planes together.
“He loved to fly,” said Hammer. “He bought the plane already built and it was fully checked and he was in it many times. He wouldn’t have taken anyone up with him if it wasn’t safe.”
Hammer said Steffen called him Sunday morning and asked him if he wanted to go flying on his new plane — a Skystar Kitfox 4 fixed-wing, single-engine plane. Hammer, who is a professional commercial photographer, said yes, grabbed his camera and went to meet with Steffen.
Hammer said Steffen was meticulous on the safety of his airplanes. Before the two took off Steffen did all the proper safety checks. Hammer said Steffen went step-by-step on the safety measures with him. It was those safety measures that saved his life, Hammer said.
“It was an experimental plane,” said Hammer. “He (Steffen) did a pre-flight with it and when we took off, it went up with no problem ... We were strapped in with very good safety belts. There were three belts.”
Hammer said they were about 800-1,000 feet in the air before the crash occurred. They were just starting to fly lower so Hammer could shoot some photos. Hammer guessed that they were traveling more than 50 mph.
“(We) weren’t doing anything crazy ... We were on Upper Whitefish and we did a slight climb and then all of a sudden it pitched hard left and we went into a spiral, nose down. We didn’t have time to say anything, it all happened so fast.
“I was shocked. I was conscious the whole time. When we hit the water, it came pouring into the plane and everything hurt like crazy. I grabbed my safety belt and got out. I couldn’t see Dan. I was trying to get to Dan but I couldn’t get to him. I was helpless. My arms and legs weren’t working.”
Hammer said when he crawled over the plane to try to get to Steffen an eyewitness came to help him. Hammer said he was placed on a boat and the eyewitness went to look for Steffen.
“The guy tried to get him out, but he told me that Dan didn’t make it,” said Hammer.
Hammer said Steffen has a wife and two teenage children. A celebration of life for Steffen will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Crosslake Evangelical Free Church “The Log Church.” Family and friends are invited to gather one hour prior to services at the church and share memories and stories of Steffen at a reception to follow.
Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl said Wednesday that the cause of the crash continues to be under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane crash was reported at 9:52 a.m. Assisting the sheriff’s office at the scene were the Crosslake, Nisswa and Breezy Point police departments; the Minnesota State Patrol; the DNR; North Memorial Ambulance Service; Ideal and Crosslake fire departments; and first responders.
Story and photo: http://brainerddispatch.com
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