BFO94LA150

During the landing roll on runway 22, the pilot noticed an obstruction (row of railroad ties) that had been placed on the runway as a construction barrier. She applied brakes, but was unable to stop the airplane before it collided with the barrier. An FAA inspector stated the airplane had touched down about 3000 feet down the 5000 foot long runway. The construction barrier was located 1250 feet from the departure end of the runway giving it an effective length of 3750 feet. A NOTAM stated only that the threshold for runway 4 was displaced 1250 feet. The pilot had obtained a weather briefing for an IFR flight, but stated that she did not receive NOTAM information about the destination airport. Also, she said that there were no displaced threshold markings and that she was unable to see any obstruction from the air.

On August 26, 1994, at 1252 eastern daylight time, N15512, a Beech 36, owned and operated by Monica H. Mc Gill of Dallas, Texas, collided with a construction barrier on the runway during landing on runway 22 at Georgetown Airport, Georgetown, Delaware. The certificated private pilot and her two passengers were not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The personal flight was operated under 14 CFR 91 and originated in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The pilot reported that the airplane touched down on runway 22 and during the rollout she noticed obstructions on the runway. She stated that she applied the brakes but was unable to avoid colliding with the construction barriers on the runway.

According to an FAA Aviation Safety Inspector, the airplane touched down about 3000 feet down the 5000 foot long runway and was unable to stop to avoid hitting barriers at the end of the runway. At the time of the accident there was construction ongoing on the runway. The FAA stated that there was a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) with regard to runway 4. It stated that, "...runway four threshold displaced 1250 feet." The FAA also stated that Dover approach control advised the pilot that the landing runway was partially closed. The FAA also stated that according to the FAA Airport Engineering office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, there was no prohibition regarding the use of railroad ties to close portions of the Georgetown Airport runway which was under repair.

The airplane was examined at the accident site by the FAA Safety Inspector and there was no evidence of mechanical malfunction. The pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented if the NOTAM issued by the Flight Service Station was worded as follows, "runway 4 has an obstruction crossing the runway approximately 1200 feet from the beginning of runway 04."

The Airman's Information Manual states in part, "sometimes constructionist or maintenance activities require the threshold to be relocated towards the departure end of the runway. In these cases, a NOTAM should be issued by the airport operator identifying the portion of the runway that is closed, e.g., First 2,000 feet of Runway 24 closed."