# Accident 20250120000339A: Piper PA-28-235, Mount Vernon, IL, January 20, 2025

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 20, 2025, 13:00 local time
- Place: Mount Vernon, IL
- Airport: Mount Vernon
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.3234° N, 88.8585° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.3234&lon=-88.8585&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8997W, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8997W) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-235 (registry code 7102810, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-235) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-28-235
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 119 total, 119 in this make and model, 13 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN25LA085](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25LA085) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250120000339A

## Narrative

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

ON JANUARY 20, 2025, AT 1:00 PM LOCAL TIME, AVIATION SAFETY INSPECTOR WAS BRIEFED BY ANOTHER AVIATION SAFETY INSPECTOR WHO HAD VISITED THE ACCIDENT SITE AT MOUNT VERNON AIRPORT (KMVN) AND PERFORMED AN INVESTIGATION INCLUDING PICTURES OF THE AIRCRAFT AND PILOTS LOG BOOKS. THE INVESTIGATION CENTERED AROUND THE CRASH OF ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, A PIPER PA28-235, WHICH HAD COLLIDED WITH A SNOWBANK WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND ON RUNWAY 23.

THE INSPECTOR WAS PROVIDED WITH PICTURES AND A VIDEO OF THE INCIDENT. THE VIDEO, ALTHOUGH GRAINY, SHOWED THE AIRCRAFT LANDING. THE LANDING APPEARED NORMAL BUT SEEMED FASTER THAN USUAL, WITH THE TAIL RAISING SLIGHTLY PLACING ADDED WEIGHT ON THE NOSE GEAR. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED ITS APPROACH AND STRUCK A SNOWBANK ON THE LEFT-WING TIP, CAUSING IT TO ROTATE NEARLY 180 DEGREES TO THE LEFT AROUND THE SNOWBANK COLLAPSING THE NOSE GEAR, DAMAGING THE LEFT WING, PROPELLER AND FIREWALL.

NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. HOWEVER, THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED MAJOR DAMAGE, INCLUDING A COLLAPSED NOSE GEAR, FIREWALL DAMAGE, AND WRINKLING OF THE UPPER AND LOWER SKINS ON THE LEFT WING INBOARD OF THE LANDING GEAR.

THE INSPECTOR CONDUCTED AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PILOT OVER THE PHONE, WHO ADMITTED TO BEING TOO HIGH AND FAST ON FINAL APPROACH AND SHOULD HAVE DID A GO-AROUND BUT CONTINUED WITH A HARD LANDING. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HER RIGHT WING INITIALLY STRUCK A SNOWBANK ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY, LEADING HER TO OVERCORRECT TO THE LEFT AND COLLIDE WITH A SNOWBANK ON THE LEFT.

THE PIC INDICATED THE WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) WITH CLEAR SKIES AND WINDS LESS THAN 5 KNOTS. THE PILOT IN COMMAND (PIC) HAD APPROXIMATELY 119 FLIGHT HOURS AND RECEIVED THEIR PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE ON AUGUST 24, 2024.

## 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 CEN25LA085](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25LA085), Jan 20, 2025: Piper PA-28-235 (N8997W), Mount Vernon, IL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's improper landing flare and subsequent improper recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in a collision with terrain.

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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