# Incident 20100120026689I: Piper J4A, Charlotte, MI, January 20, 2010

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 20, 2010, 15:15 local time
- Place: Charlotte, MI
- Airport: Fitch H Beach
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Taxi
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.5741° N, 84.8121° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at FITCH H BEACH (FPK), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.5741&lon=-84.8121&mi=10
- Aircraft: N30348, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N30348) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper J4A (registry code 7100604, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-j4a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental C85 series (registry code 17008, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER J4A
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR C85 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 469 total, 255 in this make and model, 25 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100120026689I

## Narrative

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

PILOT LANDED ON RUNWAY 02 AT CHARLOTTE, MI (KFPK).  WHEN PILOT EXITED THE RWY AT THE TAXIWAY CONNECTOR, THERE WAS A 5 TO 6 INCH DEEP HARD PACKED RIDGE OF SNOW THAT HAD BEEN LEFT ALONG THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY BY THE CITY SNOW PLOW DRIVER.  THE TURN OFFS AT BOTH ENDS OF THE RUNWAY HAD BEEN PROPERLY PLOWED BUT THIS ONE CONNECTOR HAD A RIDGE OF SNOW THAT HAD NOT BEEN PROPERLY REMOVED.  INSPECTOR ELLIOTT TALKED WITH AIRPORT MANAGER ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND HE HAD TALKED WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND WAS AWARE THAT THE PLOW DRIVER HAD NOT DONE A PROPER JOB OF SNOW REMOVAL AND HE DID STATE THAT IN THE FUTURE THE SNOW PLOW DRIVERS SENT TO THE AIRPOT WOULD BE TRAINED TO PROPERLY REMOVE THE SNOW FROM ALL SURFACES AND NOT LEAVE A RIDGE OF SNOW, AS HAD BEEN DONE ON THIS OCCASION.  A WITNESS ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WITNESSED THE LANDING AND HE STATED THAT MR. MEAD HAD EXITED THE RUNWAY AT A VERY SLOW SPEED AND THIS WAS CONFIRMED BY AN ON SCENE INVESTIGATION IN WHICH THE AIRCRAFT ONLY TRAVELED APPROXIMATELY 12 INCHES INTO THE HARD PACKED SNOW BEFORE THE HARD PACKED SNOW CAUSED SUFFICIENT STOPPING FORCE TO CAUSE THE AIRCRAFT TO COME TO AN ABRUPT STOP, WHICH RESULTED IN THE AIRCRAFT PITCHING DOWNWARD AND THE PROP CONTACTING THE GROUND, RESULTING IN MINOR DAMAGE TO THE PROPELLER AND LOWER ENGINE COWLING. INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THAT PILOT EXERCISED REASONABLE CARE AND WAS NOT AT FAULT IN THIS INCIDENT.  NO FURTHER ACTION PLANNED.

## Other reports on N30348 (1)

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

- [Incident 19980914037009I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980914037009I), Sep 14, 1998: Piper J4A (N30348), Great Falls, MT. (-5) Pilot landed in a field 10 miles NE of Great Falls, Montana after the engine quit. Engine quit because of fuel depletion on one side while pilot was…

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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