- Date
- September 25, 2010, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Basehor, KS
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6484RPiper PA-28-140
- Defining event
- Landing-aborted after touchdown: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 12, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20100925047599A
- Case key
- 77435
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's improper touchdown point during landing and his delayed decision to execute a go-around. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's vision being obscured by the rain.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the pilot, his first approach for landing was too fast so he performed a go-around and attempted a second landing to the south. The pilot reported that rain showers obscured his vision during the approach, but he elected to continue with the landing. The grass runway was wet and the pilot thought that he could not stop the airplane on the runway so he subsequently initiated another go-around. During the go-around the airplane impacted a fence and came to rest in a corn field a mile away. The wind reported at an airport 10 miles to the southeast of the accident site was variable at 10 knots, gusting to 20 knots. The pilot reported that the wind was out of the south at the time of the accident. The pilot additionally reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
On September 25, 2010, approximately 1730 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28-140, N6484R, registered to and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when it struck a fence after landing at a private airstrip at Basehor, Kansas. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and his passenger were not injured. The flight originated at an undetermined location and at an undetermined time. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot said he landed downwind and long on a wet grass airstrip. The airplane went off the end of the runway, struck a fence, and came to a stop in a corn field. According to the pilot's accident report, his first approach was "too fast" so he abandoned the landing and went around for a second attempt. The pilot wrote, "Indications were wind out of the south. Rain showers obscured my vision. I attempted to land anyway. I did not believe I could safely stop the airplane and attempted to take off. I clipped a fence and crash landed in a corn field a mile away." Winds recorded at Kansas City International Airport (MCI) and Kansas City Downtown Airport (MKC), located 20 and 25 miles northeast of the accident site, respectively, were from 070 degrees at 10 knots, gusting to 16 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6484R
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-21674
- Airframe hours
- 7,153
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Roger D. Low
- Registered owner
- Roger D. Low
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 5, 2009 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- K34 · Gardner, KS
- Destination
- SN22 · Basehor, KS
- Airport
- SN22 · Holtings Airport, runway 17, 2,700 × 100 ft, grass/turf
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 18, 2009
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,500 total · 300 in this make and model · 2,000 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 64 °F
- Observed at
- MCI, 10 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 10, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 587 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.