CHI01LA181
2001-06-21 · Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport ARB
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane resulting in the inadvertent stall/spin. A factor was the pilot's unfamiliarity with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On June 21, 2001, at 1405 eastern daylight time, an amateur-built Masko Mustang MII, N24898, piloted by a commercial pilot, was destroyed when it impacted terrain following a loss of control while maneuvering in the traffic pattern at the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (ARB), Ann Arbor, Michigan. The aircraft had just completed a touch and go and was turning from the upwind to the crosswind leg of the traffic pattern for runway 06 (3,500 feet by 75 feet, concrete). The local flight was being operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 and was not on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot and the pilot rated passenger received fatal injuries. The flight originated from ARB at 1353. Witnesses to the accident saw the airplane make a steep right turn prior to spiraling to the ground. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies that could be associated with a pre-impact condition. The pilot held commercial and certified flight instructor certificates with airplane single engine land and instrument airplane ratings. The pilot also held a ground instructor certificate with advanced and instrument ratings. According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the pilot reported having 398 hours of flight time as of March 15, 2001. The pilot's logbook was not recovered. The pilot rated passenger held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single engine land and instrument airplane ratings. He held a certified flight instructor certificate with an airplane single engine land rating. The pilot rated passenger also held a ground instructor certificate with an advanced rating. According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the pilot rated passenger reported having 307 hours of flight time as of May 10, 2001. The pilot rated passenger's logbook was not recovered. Toxicology tests performed on the pilot and pilot rated passenger were negative for all tests performed. Autopsies were performed on the pilot and pilot rated passenger by Washtenaw County on June 22, 2001. It was reported that the airplane was purchased on June 16, 2001. The pilot was the flight instructor of the new owner. The owner was not aboard the airplane when the accident occurred. The airplane was destroyed when it impacted terrain following a loss of control while maneuvering in the traffic pattern. The aircraft had just completed a touch and go and was turning from the upwind to the crosswind leg of the traffic pattern. Witnesses to the accident saw the airplane make a steep right turn prior to spiraling to the ground. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies that could be associated with a pre-impact condition. It was reported that the airplane was purchased on June 16, 2001. The pilot was the flight instructor of the new owner. The owner was not aboard the airplane when the accident occurred. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2001_CHI01LA181.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, loss of control). All research papers
- Semantic Scholar 2016 · Article (Interacción) Trajectory Recovery System: Angle of Attack Guidance for Inflight Loss of Control
This paper describes the design and development of an ecological display to aid pilots in the recovery of an In-Flight Loss of Control event due to a Stall (ILOC-S).
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Reports 2010 · Accident report Loss of Control on Approach — Colgan Air Flight 3407
Colgan Air 3407 / Continental Connection (Q400) Buffalo NY, February 12, 2009 — 50 fatalities. Definitive investigation of the Colgan 3407 stall-stick-pusher crash on approach to Buffalo.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER) A Scoping Review of Aviation Loss of Control Inflight Research
Loss of control – inflight (LOC-I) contributes to aircraft accidents at unacceptably high rates. Significant industry efforts and research have aimed to improve LOC-I prevention, detection, and recove…
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2024 · SKYbrary article Loss of Control In-Flight (LOC-I) — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary comprehensive knowledge-base entry on Loss of Control In-Flight — definitions, contributing factors, accident case studies (Air France 447, Colgan 3407), and prevention strategies.
- Semantic Scholar 2024 · Article (International Conference on Networking and Services) Risk Assessment of Loss of Control In-Flight Trajectories for Urban Air Mobility Safety
In Urban Air Mobility (UAM), maintaining a minimum separation between aircraft is a safety requirement, which becomes challenging amidst congested air traffic and off-nominal conditions, such as Loss …