NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CHI02LA037
Registry · N3KV
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
CESSNA 172P
Year of manufacture
1981 · 20 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-290 SERIES (140 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19810311
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A31B95
Registrant of record
AIRMAX CHARTERS LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, and the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin.
Factual narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On November 10, 2001, about 1622 central standard time, an experimental amateur-built Vermeys T-Bird II, N3KV, piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed on impact with terrain during an uncontrolled descent near Sherburn, Minnesota. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot was fatally injured. The local flight originated from a private airstrip near Sherburn, Minnesota, at time unknown. The Martin County Sheriff's report stated: ... Witnesses that were hunting in the area advised they saw the aircraft go down. It had started to fall from approximately 500 feet. I was advised that it appeared that the engine had stalled and that the aircraft began to spiral before hitting the ground. The first witness on the scene advised that the engine had been running when he arrived. The parachute on the aircraft had been deployed. It appeared that the aircraft had hit the ground nose first. The front tire was bent at its supports. Some of the frame from the front was imbedded in the ground. The rest of the aircraft had landed approximately 10 feet behind where the part of the frame had been imbedded in the ground. During a telephone interview a witness stated that he watched the airplane fly around for about a half hour. He said the airplane was climbing and descending like a crop duster. He said that he heard the engine shut down. He said that he saw the airplane almost stand there, hung for a second or two, and nosed down. The airplane corkscrewed to the left about three quarters of a turn. He said the airplane did not go directly down and did not glide out of the descent. When the airplane descended below a hill he heard two pops like a shotgun.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land airplane rating. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, his most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on February 2, 2000, with no restrictions listed. The pilot noted he had 120 hours of total flight time at the time of that medical certificate.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The airplane was a single engine experimental amateur-built Vermeys T-Bird II, N3KV, serial number 001KV. The kit manufacturer's specifications stated that the airplane seated two and had a maximum gross weight of 1,000 pounds. Photographs revealed its engine was a Rotax 582 engine. The kit manufacturer stated: [The pilot] bought a T-Bird from somewhere. It was wrecked when a building caved in on it. He wanted to buy parts to fix it and ended up buying most of an airframe. ... He used some parts from the wreck and some from the parts we sent him. Records showed the plane was equipped with a Ballistic Recovery System, Inc. (BRS) Vertical Launch System (VLS) parachute. The pilot noted that it was a "BRS - 5 VLS Model 1200 SN 12698." (See appended specifications)
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
At 1615, the Jackson Municipal Airport, near Jackson, Minnesota, weather was: Wind 360 degrees at 7 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition clear; temperature 11 degrees C; dew point -3 degrees C; altimeter 30.24 inches of mercury.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The Martin County Sheriff's report stated that the airplane came to rest in "Section 28 Jay Township (300 Block of 80th street)." Pictures of the site revealed that the BRS parachute was deployed and it came to rest on the ground. (See appended photographs) The photographs showed that the airplane impacted the ground with its nose approximately 80 degrees nose down.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
The Olmsted County Coroner's Office performed an autopsy on the pilot November 11, 2001. No toxicological samples were taken.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Photographs of the accident site showed level terrain for a forced landing. A FAA employee representing the Air Traffic Manager for Princeton Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) stated: This memo is to confirm that Princeton AFSS Watch Supervisor did receive a call on November 10, 2001 from a law enforcement official reporting an aircraft accident. The official stated that the aircraft was an ultralight and that he wasn't sure if ultralights were regulated. The Watch Supervisor told the official that ultralight accidents are not reportable accidents. No further action was taken by the Princeton AFSS. During the conversation the reporting official did not say that the aircraft had an N-number. The FAA was a party to the investigation. The amateur-built experimental airplane was destroyed on impact with terrain during an uncontrolled descent. The pilot was fatally injured. The Sheriff's report stated, "It had started to fall from approximately 500 feet. I was advised that it appeared that the engine had stalled and that the aircraft began to spiral before hitting the ground. The first witness on the scene advised that the engine had been running when he arrived. The parachute on the aircraft had been deployed. It appeared that the aircraft had hit the ground nose first." A witness stated that he watched the airplane fly around for about a half hour. He said the airplane was climbing and descending like a crop duster. He said that he heard the engine shut down. He said that he saw the airplane almost stand there, hung for a second or two, and nosed down. The airplane corkscrewed to the left about three quarters of a turn. He said the airplane did not go directly down and did not glide out of the descent. When the airplane descended below a hill he heard two pops like a shotgun. The accident was reported to the local Automated Flight Service Station as an ultralight accident. Photographs of the accident site showed level terrain available for a forced landing. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2001_CHI02LA037.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- 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 …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Analysis on the Negative Emotional, Physiological, and Cognitive Responses Elicited from of the Activation of a Stall Alarm
Failing to identify an aerodynamic stall can lead to the inability of an aircraft to sustain flight. To warn pilots of an impending or fully-developed stall, many aircraft have safety devices installe…
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