# Incident 19950605016889I: Piper PA28140, Mena, AR, June 5, 1995

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 5, 1995, 18:00 local time
- Place: Mena, AR
- Airport: Intermountain Regional Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.5826° N, 94.2365° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Mena, AR, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.5826&lon=-94.2365&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6017W, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6017W) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-140 (registry code 7102802, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28140
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 575 total, 250 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19950605016889I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: PRIVATE PILOT WITH INSTRUMENT RATING DEPARTED MORRILTON, ARKANSAS (BDQ) FOR MENA, ARKANSAS (M39) ON A VFR FLIGHT AFTER RECEIVING A WEATHER BRIEFING THAT FORECAST VFR CONDITIONS WITH A CHANCE OF ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. UPON ARRIVAL AT M39 THE PILOT OBSERVED THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS APPROACHING THE AIRPORT AND WAS UNABLE TO GET LANDING INFORMATION (WIND DIRECTION AND VELOCITY) ON CTAF. PILOT OBSERVED WIND SOCK AND DECIDED TO ATTEMPT A CROSSWIND LANDING. JUST BEFORE TOUCHDOWN AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED A SUDDEN DOWNDRAFT THAT BOUNCED AIRCRAFT ONTO RUNWAY AND BACK INTO AIR. PILOT MADE A "GO-AROUND" AND DECIDED TO DIVERT TO AN AIRPORT WHERE HE KNEW BETTER WIND CONDITIONS EXISTED. WHILE ON DEPARTURE PILOT HEARD A CALL ON CTAF ADVISING, "CHEROKEE THAT JUST ATTEMPTED A LANDING AT MENA, IT DOESN'T LOOK TOO BAD BUT THE WIND IS STRONG FROM THE NORTHWEST." IT WAS DETERMINED LATER THAT THE INDIVIDUAL MAKING THAT CALL WAS NOT A RATED PILOT. BASED ON THAT RADIO TRANSMISSION, THE PILOT DECIDED TO ATTEMPT A SECOND APPROACH. WHILE TURNING FINAL THE PILOT STATED "THE TURBULENCE WAS SEVERE" AND HE BROKE OFF THE APPROACH, DECIDED THAT WIND CONDITIONS PROBABLY EXCEEDED HIS ABILITIES AND HE DECIDED THAT THE SAFEST OPTION WOULD BE TO DIVERT TO MOUNT IDA, ARKANSAS (7M3). LANDING AT MOUNT IDA WAS UNEVENTFUL. DAMAGE TO PROP WAS DISCOVERED AFTER LANDING. THIS INCIDENT IS CLOSED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.