# Accident 19980120003849A: Amtr TAILWINDW8, Lodi, WI, January 20, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 20, 1998, 11:07 local time
- Place: Lodi, WI
- Airport: Lake
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.3091° N, 89.5298° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.3091&lon=-89.5298&mi=10
- Aircraft: N12038, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N12038-1998-03-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Nerstrom Tailwind W-8 (registry code 97902E4, https://openairdocs.org/model/nerstrom-tailwind-w-8) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR TAILWINDW8
- Reported engine: CONT C9012F
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 11,931 total, 1,193 in this make and model, 7 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98LA083](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA083) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980120003849A

## Narrative

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

LOW OVER LAKE TO LOOK FOR LANDING ON ICE. HIT ROUGH ICE. SHEARED WINGS AND LANDING GEAR. (.4)THE PILOT SAID HE WAS OBSERVING THE AIRPLANE'S SHADOW AS HE MADE A LOW PASS OVER A SNOW COVERED FROZEN LAKE AT 50 FEET.  HE SAID HE WENT UNDER A CLOUD, LOST HIS SHADOW, AND ENCOUNTERED WHITEOUT CONDITIONS.  THE PILOT SAID HE COULD NOT TELL WHERE THE LAKE'S SURFACE WAS BECAUSE HE COULD NO LONGER SEE HIS SHADOW.  HE PULLED UP TO GAIN ALTITUDE, BUT THE MAIN LANDING GEAR CONTACTED THE ICE, SHEARING THEM OFF.  THE WING STRUTS OVERLOADED AND BROKE OFF ON THE SUBSEQUENT BOUNCE. SEVERAL PUBLICATIONS ON WINTER FLYING DESCRIBE WHITEOUT CONDITIONS.  ONE BOOK DESCRIBES THE PILOTS ENCOUNTER AS 'OVERCAST WHITEOUT.'                                                               (-23)ON JANUARY 20, 1998, AT APPROXIAMTELY 1100 CDT, NERSTROM (TAILWIND) W-8, N12038, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^  IMPACTED A SNOW COVERED AREA OF LAKE WISCONSIN, LODI, WISCONSIN, ON A PERSONAL FLIGHT CODNUCTED UNDER 14 CFR 91 WHILE OBSERVING THE LAKE SURFACE FOR A POSSIBLE LANDING AREA.  VFR CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT AND THE                                                             PILOT SUFFERED NO INJURIES. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE AIRCRAFT WAS AT AN ALTITUDE SUCH THAT IS ALLOWED THE LANDING GEAR TO CONTACT THE SNOW COVERED SURFACE SHEARING THE LEFT LANDING GEAR AND SUBSEQUENTLY BOTH WINGS FROM THE FUSELAGE; THE FUSELAGE REMAINING INTACT AND CONTINUING ACROSS THE SURFACE COMING TO REST ON ITS NOSE APPROXIMATELY 750 FEET FROM THE INITIAL POINT OF CONTACT.

## 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 CHI98LA083](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA083), Jan 20, 1998: Nerstrom-Tailwind W-8 (N12038), Lodi, WI, destroyed. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain a proper altitude due to the whiteout conditions. Factors associated with the accident were the low pass performed by the pilot and the visual illusion created by the…

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.

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