Navion Navion A accident near Forest Lake, Minnesota, June 9, 2002
On June 9, 2002 at about 7:20 pm local time, a Navion Navion A, registered N8717H, was destroyed in an accident near Forest Lake, Minnesota (Forest Lake airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot not performing an aborted takeoff. The soft turf runway and power lines were contributing factors.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 9, 2002 · about 7:20 pm local time
- Place
- Forest Lake, Minnesota · Forest Lake · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Navion Navion A · all Navion As on the register
- Registration
- N8717H · no longer on the register · serial 4-717
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was damaged when it impacted terrain following a collision with power lines on takeoff from the soft runway (2,650 feet by 150 feet, turf). The pilot reported that the airplane was slow in accelerating and that after lift off the airplane's left main landing gear snagged a power line. No anomalies with respect to the airframe, power plant, or systems were determined to have existed prior to the accident.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 711 hours in all; 115 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 539 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 11, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,043 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 28, 2002; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental E-225 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 25D Forest Lake MN at 7:20 pm
- Destination: CBF Council Bluffs IA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 31, 2,650 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 17 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.87 inHg
- Observation at 6:55 pm from ANE, 10 miles away
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI02LA160.