Amateur-built T-BIRD II accident near New Haven, Michigan, October 29, 1998
On October 29, 1998 at about 7:00 pm local time, a amateur-built T-BIRD II, registered N72145, was destroyed in an accident near New Haven, Michigan (Macomb Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the improper installation of the propeller by the owner/pilot- mechanic and the pilot not maintaining the airplane's airspeed while approaching the trees along the airplane's flight path. A factor in this accident was the stall encountered by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 29, 1998 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- New Haven, Michigan · Macomb Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built T-BIRD II
- Registration
- N72145 · no longer on the register · serial 001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the homebuilt experimental airplane advised air traffic that he was doing high speed taxi testing on runway 18. Shortly after making this announcement, a witness said he saw the airplane takeoff downwind on runway 36. Witnesses near the airport said they saw the airplane at a low altitude as it was climbing onto a downwind leg. One witness said the airplane was about 100 to 200-feet above the trees when it suddenly '...dropped nose down into the trees.' The on-scene investigation revealed the pusher propeller had a blade root angle set to 43-degrees at the hub. The propeller manufacturer said the blade angle for the propeller should normally be between seven and 14-degrees at its tip. With a 43-degree angle at the blade's root, the blade's tip angle would be about 20.5-degrees, according to the manufacturer's representative. No anomalies with the engine, airframe or flight control system were observed that would prevent flight.
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: 92 hours in all; 4 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 40 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 8, 1998; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 582 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 57D MI at 6:55 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 2,200 ft by 30 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 10 knots
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- 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.
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.