# Accident 19990921031839A: Piper PA28180, Fort Scott, KS, September 21, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 21, 1999, 16:40 local time - Place: Fort Scott, KS - Airport: Fort Scott Municipal Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Go Round (Aborted VFR) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 37.8310° N, 94.7008° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.8310&lon=-94.7008&mi=10 - Aircraft: N8446W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8446W-2011-01-03) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-28-180 (registry code 7102808, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-180) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA28180 - Reported engine: LYC O360A3A - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 62 total, 8 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI99FA346](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI99FA346) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990921031839A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON SEPTEMBER 21, 1999, AT 1640 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-28-180, N8446W, PILOTED BY THE HOLDER OF A FOREIGN CERTIFICATE, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED LEVEL TERRAIN APPROXIMATELY 0.25 MILES WEST OF THE FORT SCOTT MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, FORT SCOTT, KANSAS FOLLOWING AN ABORTED LANDING ON RUNWAY 35 (4,400 FEET BY 72 FEET, DRY/ASPHALT). THE PILOT, WHO WAS A BRITISH CITIZEN, WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91 AND WAS NOT ON A FLIGHT PLAN. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE POINT OF ORIGIN AND TIME OF ORIGIN OF THE FLIGHT IS UNKNOWN. IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT, A WITNESS TO THE ACCIDENT STATED THAT, ON FINAL APPROACH, THE AIRCRAFT BOUNCED 10 TO 15 FEET INTO THE AIR AT WHICH TIME HE HEARD THE ENGINE POWER INCREASE. THE AIRCRAFT THEN TURNED IN A WESTERLY DIRECTION AT A STEEP ANGLE OF ATTACK. THE WITNESS SAID THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS APPROXIMATELY 200 TO 250 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND WHEN "... IT STALLED [AND] ENTERED [A] 1/2 TURN SPIN AND COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND. DURING A POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE, THE FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM CONTINUITY WAS VERIFIED FROM THE CONTROL SUR FACES TO THE ACTUATORS. THE ENGINE WAS EXAMINED AND VALVE TRAIN CONTINUITY WAS VERIFIED. ALL FOUR CYLINDERS EXHIBITED "THUMB" COMPRESSION. BOTH MAGNETOS PRODUCED A SPARK WHEN ROTATED BY HAND. FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE CARBURETOR FLOAT BOWL AND THE RIGHT WING FUEL TANK. THE LEFT WING FUEL TANK WAS RUPTURED. THE FUEL SELECTOR VALVE WAS POSITIONED FOR THE RIGHT FUEL TANK. THE PROPELLER BLADES EXHIBITED CHORDWISE SCRATCHING, "S" BENDING, AND FORWARD BENDING. NO ANOMALIES WERE DETECTED WITH RESPECT TO THE AIRCRAFT OR AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. (.4) A WITNESS STATED THAT, ON INITIAL TOUCHDOWN THE AIRCRAFT BOUNCED 10 TO 15 FEET INTO THE AIR AT WHICH TIME HE HEARD THE ENGINE POWER INCREASE. THE AIRCRAFT THEN TURNED IN A WESTERLY DIRECTION AT A STEEP ANGLE-OF-ATTACK. THE WITNESS SAID THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS APPROXIMATELY 200 TO 250 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND WHEN, '... IT STALLED [AND] ENTERED [A] 1/2 TURN SPIN AND COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND.' THE PILOT WAS THE HOLDER OF A FOREIGN PILOT CERTIFICATE. HE DID NOT HOLD UNITED STATES PILOT OR MEDICAL CERTIFICATES. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT LOGBOOK, HE HAD ACCUMULATED 53.5 HOURS OF FLIGHT TIME ON JULY 22, 1999. THE LOGBOOK INDICATES THAT THE PILOT HAD 51.1 HOURS IN CESSNA 150/152 AIRCRAFT AND 2.4 HOURS IN CESSNA 172 AIRCRAFT. THERE WERE NO LOGBOOK ENTRIES AFTER THE JULY 22, 1999 ENTRY. DOCUMENTS FOUND WITHIN THE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT THE PILOT PURCHASED THE AIRCRAFT ON SEPTEMBER 17, 1999. NO PREEXISTING ANOMALIES WERE DETECTED WITH RESPECT TO THE AIRCRAFT, ENGINE OR SYSTEMS. ## 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 CHI99FA346](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI99FA346), Sep 21, 1999: Piper PA-28-180 (N8446W), Fort Scott, KS, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the failure of the pilot to maintain control of the aircraft. Factors were the pilot's lack of total experience, his lack of familiarity with the airplane, and the stall/spin encountered. 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.