Aeronca 11BC accident near Watervliet, Michigan, August 28, 1999
On August 28, 1999, a Aeronca 11BC, registered N9404E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Watervliet, Michigan (Watervliet Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot not maintaining aircraft control during takeoff, and the pilot not correcting for the porpoise.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 28, 1999
- Place
- Watervliet, Michigan · Watervliet Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aeronca 11BC · all 11BCs on the register
- Registration
- N9404E · registry record · serial 1041
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said that during takeoff, the airplane bounced 2-3 times on the runway, and then the landing gear and propeller broke. The passenger on board the airplane stated that 'upon liftoff, the airplane ballooned off of the runway. We came back down and bounced once, kind of porpoised twice, and came back down, and the landing gear collapsed.' Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies.
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: 200 hours in all; 19 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,559 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 18, 1999; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,250 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental A-65-8 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 40C
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 2, 2,600 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from BEH, 9 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.
Other NTSB records under N9404E 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 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 CHI99LA318.