Amateur-built Bede IV accident near Acme, Michigan, May 26, 2004
On May 26, 2004 at about 11:30 pm local time, a amateur-built Bede IV, registered N115PK, was substantially damaged in an accident near Acme, Michigan. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Engine oil starvation and inadequate maintenance by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 26, 2004 · about 11:30 pm local time · cases in 2004
- Place
- Acme, Michigan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Bede IV
- Registration
- N115PK · registry record · serial 115
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The experimental amateur-built airplane impacted a lake during a forced landing. The reported damage to the engine's components were consistent with oil starvation. The pilot was also the manufacturer and owner of the airplane. The pilot stated that the engine accumulated a total time since new of about 125 hours. The engine was never overhauled since it was purchased by the pilot in 1969. The engine manufacturer’s service instruction states that the engine is to be overhauled in the twelfth year if it does not accumulate the hourly period of time between overhauls.
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: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,632 hours in all; 148 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TVC Traverse City MI
- Destination: TVC
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N115PK the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N115PK on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2C 1 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Cherry Capital Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Michigan 2,107 since 1982 · 230 in the last ten years
- Michigan 7,230 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N115PK 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CHI04CA142.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.