# NTSB CEN25LA085: Piper PA-28-235, N8997W, Mount Vernon, IL, January 20, 2025 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: January 20, 2025, 12:50 local (18:50 UTC) - Place: Mount Vernon, IL - Coordinates: 38.323361, -88.8585 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.3234&lon=-88.8585&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration, Springfield FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 199582 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN25LA085 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/199582/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=199582 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25LA085 ## Probable cause The pilot's improper landing flare and subsequent improper recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in a collision with terrain. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: landing flare](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-235, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md?model=7102810), [All aircraft, 1,285 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062041/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot; cases with it: [Piper PA-28-235, 28 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=7102810), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-235, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md?model=7102810), [All aircraft, 1,506 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md) - [Landing: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-235, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md?model=7102810), [All aircraft, 1,556 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md) - [Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Piper PA-28-235, 35 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=7102810), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot stated that during a landing attempt at the destination airport, she flared the airplane too early, and the airplane bounced. While the airplane became airborne from the bounce, she overcorrected, and the airplane yawed right. The airplane right wing tip then struck an ice bank along the right side of the runway. The pilot overcorrected to the left, and the airplane impacted a snow/ice bank on the left side of the runway and came to rest. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and an engine mount. The pilot stated there was no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8997W](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8997W), registered now, S/N 28-10579, built 1964 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-28-235 - Registry model: [Piper PA-28-235](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-235) (registry code 7102810) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (registry code 41532, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 28-10579 - Year built: 1964 - Airframe hours: 1963 - Engines: Lycoming O-540-B4B5 235 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, June 10, 2024 - Departed: SAR, Sparta, IL - Destination: Same as departure - Airport: MVN, Mount Vernon Airport, runway 23, 6,496 × 150 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Handheld GPS, Electronic primary flight display, Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 18; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review August 24, 2024; seat: left; restraint: lap only; flight hours: 119 total, 26 in this make and model, 20 as pilot in command, 12 in the last 90 days, 1 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 230° at 6 knots - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 16 °F, dew point -0 °F - Altimeter: 30.62 inHg - Observed at: MVN ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20250120000339A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250120000339A), Jan 20, 2025: Piper PA-28-235, Mount Vernon, IL, Substantial damage. 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… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 6, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=199582. 5.2 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 4.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18266017&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 2, PDF, 3 pages, 434 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18273956&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%20Template-Rel.pdf 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.