# NTSB CHI00LA073: Piper PA-23-250, N106RS, Amery, WI, February 15, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 15, 2000, 15:30 local (21:30 UTC) - Place: Amery, WI - Coordinates: 45.300918, -92.360214 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.3009&lon=-92.3602&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 2, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 48675 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI00LA073 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/48675/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI00LA073 ## Probable cause the pilots failure to maintain directional control. Factors to the accident were the icing conditions, the snow and ice covered runway and the snowbank. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight encounter with weather, cruise - weather condition - icing conditions (contributing factor) - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - precautionary landing - initiated, pilot in command - airport facilities,runway/landing area condition - snow covered (contributing factor) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - airport facilities,runway/landing area condition - icy (contributing factor) - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - snowbank (contributing factor) ## Analysis The airplane sustained substantial damage during a precautionary landing after experiencing ice accumulation in cruise flight. The pilot received a full weather briefing the previous night and updated weather on the day of the flight. The pilot updated his flight plan to change his route of flight to avoid an area of heavy precipitation. The aircraft began to accumulate ice in cruise flight. Other aircraft along the route of flight reported icing at altitudes above and below the accident aircraft's altitude. The rate of accumulation of ice began to increase and the pilot contacted air traffic control and requested and received clearance to climb. The airplane was unable to climb higher than about 8,000 feet msl. The ice accumulation rate was such that the heated windscreen would not keep the windscreen clear. The pilot contacted ATC and requested immediate vectors to the nearest airport, where he executed a precautionary landing. The runway was snow covered with a coating of ice beneath the snow, and the windscreen was still iced over. The aircraft slid off the runway and struck a snowbank. Postaccident examination of the aircraft failed to reveal any anomalies. The aircraft was equipped and certified for flight into known icing conditions. ## Factual narrative On February 15, 2000, at 1530 central standard time, a Piper PA-23-250, N106RS, piloted by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage during a precautionary landing on runway 18 (4,001 feet by 75 feet snow/ice covered asphalt) at the Amery Municipal Airport (AHH), Amery, Wisconsin. The 14 CFR Part 135 domestic passenger flight was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. There were no reported injuries to the pilot or the two passengers. The flight originated from the Roseau Municipal Airport, Roseau, Minnesota, at 1323, and was en route to the Watertown Municipal Airport, Watertown, Wisconsin. In a written statement, the pilot stated that he had received a full weather briefing the previous night and had received updated weather on the day of the flight. The pilot said that he checked weather on the weather computer at the departure airport and then called Flight Service about 30 minutes prior to the flight and received another weather update from a weather briefer. The pilot said that, after speaking with the weather briefer, he updated his flight plan to change his route of flight to avoid an area of heavy precipitation. The pilot said that the aircraft began to accumulate ice in cruise flight at 6,000 feet msl. The pilot said that he heard another aircraft request a descent from 6,000 feet msl to 4,000 feet msl due to icing. The pilot said that the other aircraft then requested a climb back to 6,000 feet msl because icing conditions at 4,000 feet msl were worse than at 6,000 feet msl. The pilot stated that he then asked air traffic control (ATC) if they had any reports from aircraft at higher altitudes along his route of flight. The pilot said that ATC told him that an aircraft had reported moderate mixed icing at 10,000 feet msl. The pilot said that he elected to stay at 6,000 feet msl because the "...accumulation at that time was not a threat...." The pilot said that the rate of accumulation of ice began to increase and that he contacted ATC and requested and received clearance to climb. The pilot said that he began to climb but was unable to climb higher than about 8,000 feet msl and that the ice accumulation rate was such that the heated windscreen would not keep the windscreen clear. The pilot stated that he then contacted ATC and requested immediate vectors to the nearest airport, which ATC provided. The pilot executed a precautionary landing at AHH. The pilot said that the runway at AHH was snow covered and that the windscreen was still iced over. A police report states that the runway was covered with 2-3 inches of snow and that beneath the snow cover, the asphalt was covered with a layer of ice. The report also states that the aircraft slid into a snowbank. A postaccident examination of the aircraft, by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector, failed to reveal any anomalies that could be associated with a preexisting condition. No mechanical malfunction was reported by the pilot in his written report. The aircraft was found to be equipped and certified for flight into known icing conditions. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N106RS](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N106RS-2013-03-26), registration cancelled 2013-03-26, S/N 27-7854082, built 1978 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-23-250 - Registry model: [Piper PA-23-250](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-23-250) (registry code 7102308) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (registry code 41530, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 27-7854082 - Airframe hours: 3778 - Engines: Lycoming IO-540 250 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Operator: Wisconsin Aviation - Registered owner: Westra Construction, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, December 27, 1999, 32 hours before - Departed: ROX, ROSEAU, MN - Destination: RYV, WATERTOWN, WI - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: AHH, Amery Municipal Airport, runway 18, 4,001 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 44; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 1,489 total, 66 in this make and model, 1,406 as pilot in command, 159 in the last 90 days, 63 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Instrument (IMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 1.5 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 800 ft overcast - Temperature: 32 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg ## 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 20000215018699A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000215018699A), Feb 15, 2000: Piper PA23250, Amery, WI, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot experienced severe icing conditions, changed altitude but still experienced icing at various altitudes. Even though the aircraft was certified for… 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.