Lapeer — Six pilot trainees are ready to meet at DuPont-Lapeer Airport for the night’s lesson: aircraft instruments and plane dynamics.
But these trainees tend to have a few more wrinkles than you’d expect.
They are baby boomer pilots, the fastest-growing age group of light-aircraft aviators and Michigan is among the states with the most. The state has more sport-aircraft licenses — including those for powered hang gliders, parachutes and gyrocopters — than all but California, Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to the General Aviation Manufacturing Association’s 2015 report.
“The pilot base is getting older and a lot of them are baby boomers and they want to keep flying so they are going to sports aircraft,” said Rick Hayes of Hayes Aero in Lapeer.
Nationally, the average age of sport pilots is almost 60, GAMA reported. Forty-three percent are 60 or older, GAMA said, citing Federal Aviation Administration data.
Sport pilots’ requirements are much more lenient than those for piloting other private aircraft, such as small planes. In Michigan, the latest available figures show there are nearly 200 licensed sport and recreational pilots, according to the Aircraft Owner and Pilots Association. Sport piloting may be attractive to older people, who fear they cannot pass medical certifications for larger, faster aircraft, because they need only have a driver’s license.
“The good news is people who have medical issues — diabetes or what not — do not have to pass medical certification,” said Steve O’Connor, 41, a pilot since 1998 and an instructor at Lapeer Aviation Flight Training.
And there is another issue.
“It’s harder and harder to get young people involved in sport flying because of the cost. ... If it’s between a single-seat airplane and a boat they can take the family out on, they are going to choose the boat,” said Denny Demeter, president of the Michigan Ultralight Association.
Light-sport aircraft are generally lower cost than bigger aircraft; those classified separately as so-called “ultralights” require even less money and training.
An ultralight has one seat. If unpowered, it weighs less than 155 pounds. Fuel capacity cannot exceed five gallons; the ultralight is incapable of more than 63 mph. The Experimental Aircraft Association estimates it takes only an hour or two to learn to pilot an ultralight; the craft does not need to be registered, nor its pilot license.
As the number of recreational baby boomer pilots grows, so do crash concerns. Fatal crashes involving light-sport aircraft in the United States totaled 40 from 2005 through September 2014, according to Federal Aviation Administration data released in July, plus at least 71 more involving experimental light-sport aircraft the FAA does not actively track. There were 420 non-fatal crashes, the FAA reported.
Michigan-specific totals were not released, but most Michigan crashes are in rural, outstate areas, a review of individual National Transportation Safety Board records shows. Among them:
■In Kent County on Aug. 24, 2014, an unregistered “amateur built” ultralight crashed into trees during takeoff at Lowell City Airport. The pilot, Bryan Bowker, 67, of Edgewood, New Mexico, was killed. He traveled to the area to consider buying the plane.
■In Macomb County on Feb. 4, 2012, Charles Zichchi, 78, was killed when the motorglider he was piloting lost engine power after takeoff. The glider crashed on Wolcott Mill Golf Course, within one mile of Ray Community Airport. Zichchi had a private-pilot certificate with single-engine land airplane and glider ratings. His most recent application for an airman medical certificate was denied. Regulations do not require a person with a light-sport rating to hold a medical certificate.
■In Allegan County on Oct. 6, 2011, Gerald “Jerry” Rinkerhuff, 65, died when his amateur-built plane collided with a nearly 15-foot-tall approach light while landing at Tulip City Airport in Holland. Rinkerhuff of Gobles had made adjustments to the pitch and lateral control of the airplane. “It was determined the pilot had used the wrong template,” the National Transportation Safety Board said.
■Temperatures on Aug. 9 were in the low 70s with clear skies when Scott Headley attempted to land his ultralight aircraft near his home. But a tree was in the approach. Headley’s craft clipped the tree and crashed into his neighbor’s backyard in Ottawa County’s Olive Township. Headley, who is still hospitalized in fair condition, ended up having one of his legs partly amputated.
■The worst Michigan crash in recent years was in Oceana County, captured on a witness video. On Aug. 24, 2012, an experimental powered parachute crashed at Silver Lake State Park, where flags indicated gusty downwinds. The Destiny XLT crashed, nose down. Pilot Henry Austin, 66, and his wife, Carol, both of Shelby, were killed.
Story and photos: http://www.detroitnews.com
NTSB Identification: CEN14LA454
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, August 24, 2014 in Lowell, MI
Aircraft: RANS S17, registration: None
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 may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On August 24, 2014, about 1130 eastern daylight time, an unregistered Rans S17 airplane, impacted trees and terrain during a takeoff at the Lowell City Airport (24C), near Lowell, Michigan. The private pilot, the sole occupant on board, was fatally injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The unregistered airplane was 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, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight was originating from 24C at the time of the accident.
At 1053, the recorded weather at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport, near Grand Rapids, Michigan, was: Wind 080 degrees at 10 knots, visibility 5 statute miles, present weather mist: sky condition overcast clouds at 1,100 feet; temperature 22 degrees C; dew point 20 degrees C; altimeter 30.10 inches of mercury.
NTSB Identification: CEN12LA149
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, February 04, 2012 in Ray, MI
Probable Cause Approval Date: 01/15/2013
Aircraft: Pipistrel Virus 912, registration: N325MZ
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
A witness reported that the motorglider engine did not sound normal during the preflight run-up and takeoff. The engine subsequently lost power when the aircraft was about 200 feet above ground level. The motorglider took off to the west and entered a gradual left turn. It impacted a golf course less than a mile from the airport. The duration of the accident flight was about 2 minutes. A postaccident examination revealed an accumulation of debris on the inlet side of the fuel pump screen; however, the debris did not appear to obstruct the screen significantly. The appearance of the debris was similar to the fiberglass material used in the construction of the airframe. The fuel tanks had been repaired shortly before the accident due to damage related to the use of alcohol-containing fuel (ethanol). The engine fuel line did not contain any fuel and the carburetors contained only a minimal amount of fuel.
Although the finding of minimal fuel at the engine was consistent with fuel starvation, a definitive reason for a starvation event could not be determined. According to a carburetor icing probability chart, an airplane operating in the ambient conditions at the time of the accident could expect a serious risk of carburetor icing while at cruise and glide power. Engine operations at low power during ground operations are similar to that of operations at glide power, making the carburetor susceptible to icing prior to takeoff; however, a conclusive determination related to the presence of carburetor icing was not possible. A prescription medication commonly used for the management of anxiety disorders and for insomnia was detected at subtherapeutic levels. However, any impairment of the pilot at the time of the accident could not be determined.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation for reasons that could not be determined because the postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Identification: CEN12FA010
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, October 06, 2011 in Holland, MI
Probable Cause Approval Date: 09/05/2013
Aircraft: BRINKERHUFF GERALD G Q200, registration: N2935R
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
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.
The pilot was landing the airplane when it contacted a 14-foot 8-inch tall approach light stanchion that was located about 460 feet from the approach end of the runway. The airplane crashed and came to rest inverted. Witnesses reported that the airplane appeared to be operating normally as the pilot performed touch-and-go landings before the accident. Another witness reported the airplane was low as it approached the runway on the final approach. The pilot had about 2 hours of flight time in the newly built tandem wing airplane. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The examination found the throttle in the retarded position and noted that its location required the pilot to reach his left hand across his body to control it while his right hand was on the control stick. According to sun and moon data for the day of the accident, the landing approach would have been in the direction of the setting sun, which likely would have obscured the pilot’s vision as he approached the runway, making it difficult to judge the airplane’s height above the ground and clearance from the approach lights.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot failed to maintain sufficient altitude during the landing approach, which resulted in the airplane contacting an approach light. Contributing to the accident was the setting sun, which most likely obscured the pilot’s vision.
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, August 24, 2012 in Hart, MI
Probable Cause Approval Date: 01/30/2014
Aircraft: DESTINY XLT, registration: N1674A
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
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 was flying his powered parachute on a local flight when he encountered a strong and gusty tailwind. A video showed that the powered parachute cart then rocked fore and aft, while the parachute canopy moved fore and aft above the cart until the left side of the parachute canopy deformed and collapsed. The powered parachute then entered a descending left spiral. During the descent the left side of the parachute reinflated, and the powered parachute impacted terrain nose down with a partially inflated canopy. A postaccident examination of the wreckage and the video of the accident revealed no evidence of preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
The powered parachute ram-air canopy retains its airfoil shape because of the relative wind airflow entering its front openings. Examination of the accident powered parachute revealed that modifications to lower the canopy's angle of attack had been made, to allow for quicker rotation and additional forward speed. However, these modifications decreased the canopy's angle of attack such that it would partially collapse when wind gusts were encountered.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The partial deflation of the powered parachute canopy when the pilot flew the aircraft into an area with gusty wind conditions. Contributing to the accident were the modifications that changed the flying characteristics of the parachute.
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