Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane.
NTSB analysis
The student pilot was reportedly practicing takeoffs and landings. A witness reported seeing the airplane heading east from the airport when it then turned to the left and dove “as if it was dusting crops.” The airplane subsequently impacted the ground in a northerly direction. Impact damage and ground scars indicated that the airplane struck the ground in a nose-low, wings-level attitude at a high rate of speed. Examination of the airplane revealed no preimpact defects with regard to the airframe, engine, or control system.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN09LA549 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Aug 26, 2009
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Lakeview, Michigan
- Nearest airport
- Lakeview Airport-Griffith Fiel (13C)
- Highest injury
- Fatal
- Fatal injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Piper PA-15
- N-number
- N4585H
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.