# Accident 19971213038569A: Piper PA28140, Sturtevant, WI, December 13, 1997 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 13, 1997, 15:45 local time - Place: Sturtevant, WI - Airport: Sylvania Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Final Approach - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 42.7009° N, 87.8892° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.7009&lon=-87.8892&mi=10 - Aircraft: N5454S, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5454S-2017-06-07) (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 - Reported engine: LYC O320* - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot certificates: Student - Pilot flight hours: 8 total, 8 in this make and model, 11 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98LA061](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA061) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971213038569A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. STUDENT PILOT WAS ON APPROACH TO RY26 WHEN ACFT STRUCK A SEMI TRUCK ON INTERSTATE 94, SYLVANIA, WI. (.4)WITNESSES REPORTED THE AIRPLANE APPROACHED THE RUNWAY AT A '...VERY LOW ANGLE... .' THE AIRPLANE CROSSED A 4-LANE HIGHWAY THAT WAS PERPENDICULAR TO THE RUNWAY AND FINAL APPROACH COURSE. THE LANDING GEAR STRUCK THE TOP OF A SOUTHBOUND SEMI-TRAILER TRUCK'S AIR DEFLECTOR AND TRAILER, THEN THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND ABOUT 140-FEET WEST OF THE TRUCK COLLISION POINT. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT'S LOGBOOK, SHE HAD ACCUMULATED OVER 37 HOURS OF TOTAL FLIGHT EXPERIENCE. SHE HAD FLOWN ABOUT 26 HOURS AT AN AIRPORT THAT HAD RUNWAYS 100 AND 150-FEET WIDE, AND ABOUT 11 HOURS AT THE ACCIDENT AIRPORT RUNWAY, 33 FEET WIDE. ACCORDING TO A HUMAN PERFORMANCE SPECIALIST AT THE FAA'S CIVIL AEROMEDICAL INSTITUTE, RUNWAY WIDTH DIFFERENCES MAY BE A SOURCE OF DISTORTION IN PERCEPTION DURING LANDING. WHEN THE RUNWAY IS NARROWER THAN NORMAL, THE PILOT MAY EXPERIENCE AN ILLUSION THAT CAUSES THEM TO FLY A LOWER THAN NORMAL FINAL APPROACH PATH. (-23) ON 12-13-97 AT APPROXIMATELY 15:45 LOCAL TIME N5454S ON FINAL APPROACH TO RUNWAY 26 AT SYLVANIA AIRPORT CRASHED APPROXIMATELY 75 YARD SHORT OF THE RUNWAY AFTER CONTACTING THE TOP OF A SEMITRACTOR TRAILER WHICH WAS SOUTH BOUND ON INTERSTATE 94. THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING FLOWN BY STUDENT PILOT AMANDA LEE PSKET CERT #EE1779816 WHO SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. MS. PSKET WAS TRANSPORTED BY FLIGHT FOR LIFE HELICOPTER TO FROEDTERT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL IN MILWAUKEE WHERE SHE WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT 18:55 IF MASSIVE INTERNAL INJURIES. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB CHI98LA061](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA061), Dec 13, 1997: Piper PA-28-140 (N5454S), Sturtevant, WI, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's misjudgment of altitude/distance and her failure to maintain adequate visual lookout. Also causal was the pilot's failure to maintain adequate obstacle clearance. A contributing factor… ## Other reports on N5454S (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19780520011839A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19780520011839A), May 20, 1978: Piper PA28140 (N5454S), Tulsa, OK, Substantial damage. Tires excessively worn - [Incident 19780102000429I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19780102000429I), Jan 2, 1978: Piper PA28/ (N5454S), Arnett, OK, Minor damage. Aborted downwind takeoff, run off end of runway. 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.