Potez-Air Fouga CM 170 accident near La Crosse, Wisconsin, June 16, 2001
On June 16, 2001 at about 2:45 pm local time, a Potez-Air Fouga CM 170, registered N301FM, was destroyed in an accident near La Crosse, Wisconsin (La Crosse Muni airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The fatigue failure of the aircraft's left wing tip fuel tank rear attachment, while the aircraft was being maneuvered in a low approach, leading to the tank's in-flight separation and subsequent in-flight break up of the airplane and the aircraft's control not possible.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 16, 2001 · about 2:45 pm local time
- Place
- La Crosse, Wisconsin · La Crosse Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Potez-Air Fouga CM 170
- Registration
- N301FM · no longer on the register · serial 240
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was destroyed on impact with terrain and post impact fire following an in-flight break up while maneuvering in the traffic pattern. The pilot and rear seat passenger were fatally injured. The accident airplane was cleared for a low approach. A record of interview with the Air Traffic Control Tower Chief stated "that when the aircraft was in front of the tower he first noticed a short vapor trail coming from the left wing tip and shortly thereafter the wing tip tank separated." A witness stated, "At approximately midway down the runway the aircraft began a 5 to 10 degrees climb at which point I observed the left wing tip fuel tank and what appeared to be a small section of the wing separate from the aircraft and smash through the tail section, which also became separated." Flight control push-pull link-rods were traced and continuity was established from the cockpits to the flight controls surfaces. The left wing was separated from the fuselage. Sections of the v-tail were found on runway 21. Both tip tanks were found in the grass area after the end of runway 21 and they were separated from their wings. The NTSB Materials Laboratory report stated, "Both of the [tip tank rear] studs were fractured flush with the exterior surfaces of the tip tanks. Examination of the fractures through the studs revealed similar features on the fractures from both tip tanks. ... Both fractures contained two diametrically opposite regions that were lighter in color and contained crack arrest positions, typical of reverse bending fatigue. On both studs fatigue initiation was from multiple initiation sites within a thread root. ... The fatigue cracking on the studs propagated through roughly 50 percent of the stud cross section before final fracture."
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,200 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,691 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 2001
- Maximum gross weight: 7,441 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Turbomeca MARBORE VI (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Turbomeca MARBORE VI (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: LSE La Crosse WI at 2:38 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 5,299 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from LSE
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.