14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, July 19, 2015 in Holland, MI
Probable Cause Approval Date: 01/05/2016
Aircraft: ALON A2, registration: N5607F
Injuries: 1 Minor.
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 pilot reported that he visually checked the airplane’s fuel tanks before departure but that he did not measure the amount of fuel. He added that the fuel flow meter showed that the airplane had 9.7 gallons of fuel at takeoff. After takeoff, the pilot flew to a city about 70 miles away, took some photographs over another city, and then conducted a touch-and-go at another airport. Shortly after, he turned the airplane north, and, about 30 seconds later, the engine lost power and then “quit.” During the subsequent forced landing on a beach, the engine sustained damage, and the fuselage and right wing spar sustained substantial damage.
An on-scene examination of the wreckage revealed no apparent fuel spills, leaks, or stains nor were any found in the hangar after the airplane was recovered. Due to the damage, the engine could not be test run. When examined, the gascolator was found nearly filled with fuel; the total recovered fuel on board was estimated to be about 1/2 gallon. It is likely that most of the fuel was used during the flight and that the small amount of fuel remaining was not sufficient to reach the engine while the airplane was turning, which led to the engine losing power. Given the lack of fuel, the pilot likely did not conduct adequate preflight fuel planning to ensure that there was sufficient fuel for the flight and that required reserves (30 minutes) for visual flight rules flight remained.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation during cruise flight. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadequate preflight fuel planning.
On July 19, 2015, about 1905 eastern daylight time, an Alon A2 single-engine airplane, N5607F, impacted soft terrain during a forced landing following a total loss of engine power near Holland, Michigan. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which did not operate on a flight plan. The flight originated from the West Michigan Regional Airport (BIV), near Holland, Michigan, about 1900, and was destined for the Grand Haven Memorial Airpark (3GM), near Grand Haven, Michigan.
The pilot indicated that he visually checked the airplane's fuel tanks before departure but that he did not measure the amount of fuel. According to his accident report, the airplane had 9.7 gallons of fuel at its last takeoff. He reported that he flew south from Grand Haven, Michigan, to St. Joseph, Michigan (which was 70 miles away), then turned north to take photographs over Fenville, Michigan. He proceeded to BIV and conducted a touch-and-go-landing. After taking off from BIV, he turned the airplane from a west heading to a north heading to return to 3GM. After completing the turn, the airplane lost engine power, and the engine "quit" about 30 seconds later. He said that there was low-level turbulence during the flight. He performed a forced landing on a beach where the airplane came to an abrupt stop when the nose landing gear contacted the soft sand. The airplane sustained engine damage and substantial fuselage and right wing spar damage.
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the wreckage on scene. The inspector indicated that there were no apparent fuel spills, leaks, or stains at the beach site, nor in the hangar where the airplane was recovered. The gascolator was nearly filled with fuel before being drained to ascertain the total fuel on board. The amount of recovered fuel was estimated to be about 1/2 gallon.
The type certificate data sheet for the accident airplane indicated that it had a fuel capacity of 24 gallons of fuel and it did not list an unusable amount of fuel for the airplane's fuel system.
At 1855, the recorded weather at the Muskegon County Airport, near Muskegon, Michigan, was: Wind 310 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition few clouds at 5,500, broken clouds at 21,000; temperature 24 degrees C; dew point 14 degrees C; altimeter 29.85 inches of mercury.
NTSB Identification: CEN15LA332
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, July 19, 2015 in Holland, MI
Aircraft: ALON A2, registration: N5607F
Injuries: 1 Minor.
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 July 19, 2015, about 1905 eastern daylight time, an Alon A2 airplane, N5607F, impacted soft terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Holland, Michigan. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial firewall damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual flight rules conditions prevailed for the flight, which did not operate on a flight plan. The flight originated from the West Michigan Regional Airport, near Holland, Michigan, about 1900, and was destined for the Grand Haven Memorial Airpark, near Grand Haven, Michigan.
At 1855, the recorded weather at the Muskegon County Airport, near Muskegon, Michigan, was: Wind 310 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition few clouds at 5,500, broken clouds at 21,000; temperature 24 degrees C; dew point 14 degrees C; altimeter 29.85 inches of mercury.
FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Grand Rapids FSDO-09
STEVEN S. STAM: http://registry.faa.gov/N5607F
PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — It had been an uneventful flight for 20-year pilot Steve Stam.
Sunday afternoon, the 66-year-old flew his single-engine 1966 Alon A2 Aircoupe south along the shore of Lake Michigan, did a few touch-and-goes at West Michigan Regional Airport in Holland and then climbed back up into the sky. He turned north to fly back along the lakeshore to Grand Haven.
He was near Holland State Park when he ran into trouble.
“The engine quit,” Stam recounted to 24 Hour News 8 on Monday. “Sputtered, then quit.”
Stam had a multitude of problems to deal with, including keeping the plane in the sky for as long as possible and not hitting anything on the ground when the inevitable happened.
“I certainly didn’t want to land in the state park or slam into the channel or something like that,” he said. “You’ve got very limited options when you’re in a glide mode. You can’t do any fancy turns or anything like that.”
With no power, Stam put the nose of the plane down to maintain some speed and looked for landing options.
“At least for me — but I think for most pilots, especially for private, general aviation pilots — as you fly along the countryside, you’re always looking for a place to put down,” He said. “That’s the way I was taught. What happens if your engine quits? You’re always looking, which way do I go?”
As he glided over Holland State Park, Stam found his landing target: A dune north of the park near Spyglass Condominiums.
“The beach was full of people, and the condos are here, and so that left the beach grass to put it down,” he said.
That’s exactly what he did. It wasn’t smooth. It wasn’t pretty. The landing gear bit into the sand, putting the aircraft’s nose in the ground and sending Stam into the windshield.
Story and video: http://woodtv.com
NTSB Identification: CEN09CA568
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, September 02, 2009 in Holland, MI
Probable Cause Approval Date: 12/15/2009
Aircraft: GRUMMAN AMERICAN AVN. CORP. AA-1C, registration: N9649U
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot stated that he touched down a little early on the 2,998-foot-long runway, and the airplane began to porpoise. He stated that he attempted a go-around but had insufficient airspeed to maintain control of the airplane. The airplane veered to the left of the runway where it settled into an area of trees and brush.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during the landing and subsequent go-around.
Steven Stam, center, the pilot of a plane that crashed at Park Township Airport, talks with an Ottawa County Sheriff's deputy and the airport manager.
The 1977 Grumman American Lynx that crashed in Park Township.
We now know the name of the pilot involved in a plane crash this afternoon at the Park Township Airport on Ottawa Beach Road just west of Holland. Ottawa County Deputies say 61 year old Steven Stam was not hurt in the accident. He was the only person on board when the 1977 single-engine plane crashed into some trees near the runway.
Stam told investigators that he landed hard and bounced several times before losing control of the plane. It was heavily damaged in the crash. Worries about dying never crossed pilot Steven Stam's mind when he crashed his plane off the Park Township runway Wednesday afternoon.
"I don't think I was ever scared that it was going to do me in. But I thought it might leave a mark," he said, able to laugh a little after escaping essentially unscathed.
Stam was practicing landings and takeoffs in the 1977 Grumman American Lynx he bought two months ago in South Carolina when the plane began to bounce during a landing. He tried to abort the landing by taking off again, but ended up losing control and the plane spun off the north side of runway into a tree line.
The propeller and a wing were damaged in the 2:02 p.m. crash, but the plane remained upright and Stam was able to walk away. Police said he sustained a minor abrasion from his harness.
The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the crash. The small airport is at the corner of Ottawa Beach Road and 152nd Avenue.
Stam acknowledged some tense moments during the landing. The bouncing, also called porpoising, was getting worse as he tried to slow the plane and "I didn't think the air frame could take one more slam."
So he gave the plane throttle, hoping to lift again. Instead, he lost control of the plane.
Stam, 62, of Park Township, said he has been flying more than 10 years, but the Grumman is the first craft he has owned. The plane may be more difficult to land than other models, such as a Cessna, he said.
"These things aren't quite as forgiving," he said.
He believed the plane could be repaired and thought the Federal Aviation Administration would classify the mishap as an "incident" rather than a crash.
Ottawa County sheriff's Sgt. Ed DeVries said police were looking at whether the plane's wing hit the ground, causing it to spin off the runway.
Brad Groenhof, who was remodeling an airport hangar with his father and another worker, saw the plane go into the trees.
"The wing grazed the ground and it turned the plane completely around and into the tree line," he said.
The trio then drove a car to the plane to help Stam.
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