# Accident 20000929036929A: Piper PA32260, Petersburg, MI, September 29, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 29, 2000, 15:00 local time
- Place: Petersburg, MI
- Airport: Grandolph Airport
- Damage: No damage
- Location: 41.8904° N, 83.7091° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.8904&lon=-83.7091&mi=10
- Aircraft: N33117, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N33117-2001-01-17) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32-260 (registry code 7103206, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-260) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA32260
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI00LA310](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI00LA310) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000929036929A

## Narrative

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

(-23)AT APPROXIMATELY 1500 EDT SEPTEMBER 29, 2000, PIPER PA-32-260, N33117 OPERATED BY MARK DEAN RUSSELL ATTEMPTED A TAKEOFF FROM GRAYDOLPH FIELD, PETERSBURG, MI WITH 2 PASSENGERS ON BOARD. THE AIRCRAFT BECAME AIRBRONE BUT SETTLED BACK TO THE GROUND COMING TO REST IN A CORNFIELD 170 TO 180 FEET BEYOND THE END OF RUNWAY 27.  THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT AND PASSENGERS.  THE AIRCRAFT SUFFERED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE IN THE ACCIDENT BUT WAS DESTROYED BY THE ENGINE FIRE THAT STARTED AS THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST.  THE PILOT, PASSENGERS AND A WITNESS RICHARD THORP ALL STATED THAT THEY DID NOT NOTICE ANY PROBLEMS OR MALFUNCTIONS WITH THE AIRCRAFT DURING THE TAKEOFF  ATTEMPT.  GRAYDOLPH FIELD (88G) IS A GRASS EAST WEST RUNWAY 2380 FEET LONG.  THE SURFACE OF THE RUNWAY WAS VERY DENSE GRASS ABOUT 3 INCHES HIGH.  THERE WAS NO STANDING WATER ON THE RUNWAY, THE GROUND WAS VERY DAMP BUT FIRM.

## 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 CHI00LA310](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI00LA310), Sep 29, 2000: Piper PA-32-260 (N33117), Petersburg, MI, destroyed. Probable cause: the pilots failure to abort the takeoff and obtain/maintain clearance from the corn crop. Factors were the tall, wet, grass runway, and the corn crop.

## Other reports on N33117 (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19810207009749I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19810207009749I), Feb 7, 1981: Piper PA32260 (N33117), Charlotte, MI, Minor damage. Aircraft was landed on icey runway with winds gusting to 38 knots and was blown off to one side of the 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.

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