Amateur-built CH701 accident near Owosso, Michigan, August 6, 2006
On August 6, 2006 at about 3:00 pm local time, a amateur-built CH701, registered N702BW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Owosso, 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
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and inadequate compensation for the tailwind condition. Factors included the tailwind and the power lines.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 6, 2006 · about 3:00 pm local time
- Place
- Owosso, Michigan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built CH701
- Registration
- N702BW · no longer on the register · serial 4442
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The amateur-built airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing to a cornfield after an aborted landing. The pilot reported that he had finished conducting a set of flight program tests for the experimental airplane he had built. He was flying the tests over a 1,000-foot grass airstrip and when he finished the tests, he proceeded to land on the grass runway. He reported that he was high on final and when the airplane touched the ground, he realized that he did not have enough runway remaining to stop so he aborted the landing and applied power for takeoff. There were power lines at the departure end of the runway and the airplane was not going to clear them. He turned left but there was another set of power lines that the airplane was not going to clear. The pilot slipped the airplane and attempted a forced landing to a cornfield. The left wing impacted the ground and the propeller disintegrated. The pilot reported that the winds had changed since he had departed on the flight, and there was a tailwind when he attempted the landing. The airstrip did not have a windsock.
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: 197 hours in all; 7 in this make and model; 11 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Jabiru 2200A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RNP Owosso MI
- Destination: Owosso MI
- 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 N702BW the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.