NTSB report: Vintage plane crashed near Duluth not long after takeoff

A preliminary report said the plane flew over a grassy runway before ascending, taking a left turn, and crashing into a wooded area on private property.

July 6, 2023 at 10:18PM
A vintage plane that crashed near Duluth in June hit nose-first in a wooded area off the pilot’s home runway. (Christa Lawler, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

DULUTH — A single-engine vintage airplane that crashed near Duluth in June, killing the pilot and passenger, flew over a runway on property that belonged to one of the men before it ascended, sped up, slowed, turned then dropped nose-first into a heavily wooded area.

The crash that killed Cirrus Aircraft co-workers Bryan Handyside, a 60-year-old who had been a pilot for half of his life, and Matthew Joseph, 64, occurred about 15 minutes after takeoff from Duluth International Airport, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The men had taken a privately-owned two-seater — a 1946 Aeronca 7CCM Champion — out for a test flight. Days earlier, its maintenance records had been signed off on by Handyside.

The plane was used for a work-related flying club, according to the report.

On June 20, the plane left Duluth International Airport at 6:59 a.m. and headed northeast. Not long after, its emergency locator transmitter alert went off — triggering a search by local authorities. It was discovered near Handyside's home in a wooded patch near Pequaywan Lake Road about 30 miles northeast of Duluth.

According to the NTSB's report, the plane neared the grass runway on Handyside's property from the south and flew over it at about 100 feet above ground level at 58 mph groundspeed. Near the end of the runway, it climbed and accelerated before gradually slowing to 54 mph and hitting a peak of 240 feet. The plane made a descending left turn before crashing about 450 yards from the strip.

The right wing was crushed, and one propeller blade was bent and gouged while the other was mostly straight with damage on the front of the blade. The fuselage and tail were intact. The engine and propeller were attached, but partially buried.

Obituaries for both men indicated they had died doing what they loved. Handyside's closed with "blue skies and tailwinds."

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Christa Lawler

Duluth Reporter

Christa Lawler covers Duluth and surrounding areas for the Star Tribune. Sign up to receive the new North Report newsletter.

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