# Accident 20020130007709A: Piper PA42720, Ames, IA, January 30, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 30, 2002, 18:10 local time
- Place: Ames, IA
- Airport: Ames Municipal Airport
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.9886° N, 93.6197° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.9886&lon=-93.6197&mi=10
- Aircraft: N66MT (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA42720
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI02LA075](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI02LA075) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020130007709A

## Narrative

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

(-23) A PIPER CHEYENNE PA-42-720, N66MT, PILOTED BY MR. WILLIAM DOUGHERTY AND THE OWNER MR. HENRY MANATT BOTH RATED PILOTS, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE DURING AN ILS APPROACH FOR LANDING ON RUNWAY 01 AT THE AMES MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, AMES, IOWA. THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A POWER POLE, SUBSEQUENT POWER LINES, AND THEN IMPACTED THE TERRAIN SHORT OF THE AIRPORT. THIS WAS THE FOURTH AND NEXT TO THE LAST FLIGHT LEG FOR THE DAY THAT BEGAN WITH A SCHEDULED DEPARTURE TIME OF 0700 THAT MORNING. THE CREW LEFT NEWTON, IA, WITH MR. MANATT AS PIC FOR THE FIRST TWO LEGS TO GOODLAND, KS, AND SCOTTSDALE, AZ. MR. DOUGHERTY WAS PIC FOR THE NEST LEGS TO DENVER, CO AND AMES, IA. THEY FLEW OVER 2057 NAUTICAL MILES THAT DAY. THE WEATHER CONDITIONS AT AMES, IA, WERE IMC WITH VISIBILITY BETTER THAN A 1 1/4 MILE. MR. DOUGHERTY STATES THAT HE HAD GROUND CONTACT FOR MOST OF THE APPROACH, HE ALSO SAYS HE WAS ON THE GLIDE SLOPE. THE AIRCRAFT FIRST IMPACTED A TELEPHONE POLE ALONG A NORTH/SOUTH ROAD APPROXIMATELY 3/4 NAUTICAL MILE SOUTH OF THE RUNWAY. THIS WAS THE CHEYENNE'S RIGHT WING AT 26 FOOT ABOVE THE GROUND. THEN THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED UNDERNEATH THE NEXT SET OF WIRES APPROXIMATELY 800 FEET FURTHER NORTH THAT RAN ALONG AN EAST/WEST ROAD. THIS SET OF WIRES CONTACTED THE VERTICAL STABILIZER AND ACTED AS AN ARRESTING CABLE PLACING THE AIRCRAFT IN NOSE HIGH LANDING ATTITUDE. THE INITIAL GROUND CONTACT WAS NOT HARD ENOUGH TO DAMAGE THE MAIN GEAR BUT THE TRACKS IN THE SNOW INDICATE THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED WITH INITIAL CONTACT. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE RIGHT MAIN COLLAPSED AND CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO YAW TO THE RIGHT, COMING TO REST ON A HEADING OF APPROXIMATELY 160 DEGREES AND 0.5 NAUTICAL MILE SOUTH OF THE RUNWAY.

## 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 CHI02LA075](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI02LA075), Jan 31, 2002: Piper PA-42-720 (N66MT), Ames, IA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain the proper glide path during the final portion of the approach. Factors relating to this accident were the low altitude and the utility pole.

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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