Dassault DA-20 accident near Monroe, Michigan, May 12, 1998
On May 12, 1998 at about 6:50 am local time, a Dassault DA-20, registered N617GA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Monroe, Michigan (Monroe Custer airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot-in-command's inability to rotate during takeoff due to restricted movement of the elevator controls for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 12, 1998 · about 6:50 am local time
- Place
- Monroe, Michigan · Monroe Custer · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Dassault DA-20
- Registration
- N617GA · no longer on the register · serial 88
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot-in-command reported that the flight controls were free during the preflight and before takeoff checks. He stated the applied power to takeoff and at Vr (125 knots) when he went to pull back on the yoke, it would not move. He stated he tried to pull back three times to no avail. The takeoff was aborted and the airplane traveled off the end of the runway into a field. Examination of the airplane failed to reveal any failure/malfunction which would have prevented normal operation of the flight controls.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,700 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 3,090 as pilot in command; 40 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 28,660 lb
- Seats: 0
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF700 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TTF
- Destination: ILN Wilmington OH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 21, 5,000 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 5,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:58 am from TTF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Other NTSB records under N617GA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 CHI98LA151.