- Date
- September 18, 2020, 21:27 local (Sep 19, 2020, 02:27 UTC)
- Place
- Huntley, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N43020Piper PA28
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Greater Chicago FSDO
- FAA report
- 20200918017589A
- Case key
- 102006
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 decision to land at night without runway lighting, which resulted in a collision with an object.
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
The pilot reported that he was attempting to land, at night, on an unlit grass airstrip. The pilot landed to the right of the runway by about 10 ft. During the rollout the right wing hit a small tree and separated partially from the fuselage at the wing root, resulting in substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N43020
- Reported as
- Piper PA28 (151)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7415409
- Built
- 1974
- Airframe hours
- 12,521
- Engine
- Lycoming Engines O-320-D3G, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 4, 2020
- Departed
- 3CK · Lake in the Hills, IL
- Destination
- 6IL2 · Huntley, IL
- Airport
- 6IL2 · Phyllis Field, runway 07, 3,300 × 70 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Stall warning system
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
- 23
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 18, 2020
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 435 total · 303 in this make and model · 379 as pilot in command · 151 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 30° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 47 °F, dew point 38 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.37 inHg
- Observed at
- KDPA, 20 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 12, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.0 MB 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.