# Incident 20031227033649I: Piper PA24250, St Charles, MO, December 27, 2003

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 27, 2003, 21:00 local time
- Place: St Charles, MO
- Airport: Charles Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.7957° N, 90.5154° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of St. Charles, MO, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.7957&lon=-90.5154&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7442P, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N7442P) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-24-250 (registry code 7102404, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-24-250) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA24250
- Reported engine: LYC O540*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 640 total, 92 in this make and model, 39 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031227033649I

## Narrative

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

(-23) MR. BALSKE HAD FLOWN A LONG DAY, ORIGINATING IN CANADA AND THEN DELAYED IN DETROIT WAITING FOR CUSTOMS OFFICERS TO ARRIVE TO CLEAR HIM INTO THE UNITED STATES. UPON ARRIVAL IN SAINT CHARLES, MR. BALSKE ATTEMPTED A LANDING WITH A CROSSWIND. DUE TO AN OPTICAL ILLUSION CREATED BY NON-STANDARD RUNWAY LIGHTING MR. BALSKE THOUGHT HE WAS WELL OFF CENTER AFTER TOUCHING DOWN. HE INITIATED A GO-AROUND AND RETRACTED HIS GEAR. ON THE SECOND LANDING ATTEMPT, MR. BALSKE CARRIED MORE POWER AND NO FLAPS IN AN EFFORT TO COUNTER THE CROSSWIND. HOWEVER, HE FAILED TO LOWER THE LANDING GEAR. ON THIS ATTEMPT, HE HEARD A METALLIC SOUND, REALIZED THE GEAR WAS DOWN, AND INITIATED A GO-AROUND. HE COMPLETED ANOTHER CIRCUIT AND LANDED UNEVENTFULLY. UPON SHUTTING DOWN THE ENGINE, MR. BALSKE NOTED THE PROPELLER TIPS WERE CURLED.

## Other reports on N7442P (1)

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

- [Incident 19790531028579I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19790531028579I), May 31, 1979: Piper PA24250 (N7442P), Lathrop, MO. Pilot landed due to smoke in cokcpit. Found shorted oil temperature indicator.

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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