CHI02LA257

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-34-200T · Kenmare, ND · August 26, 2002

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
August 25, 2002, 20:45 local (Aug 26, 2002, 01:45 UTC)
Place
Kenmare, ND
Injuries
2 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N9696CPiper PA-34-200T
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report June 25, 2003
Report
Approved by Office Director
Parties
FAA - Fargo FSDO
FAA report
20020826038449A
Case key
55591

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's misjudgment of distance and speed. Factors associated with the accident were the sudden wind shift which resulted in a tailwind condition and the rough terrain encountered during the overrun landing.

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

OverrunLanding - roll
Weather condition - sudden windshiftFactor
Weather condition - tailwindFactor
Distance/speed - misjudgedPilot in commandCause
On ground/water encounter with terrain/waterLanding - roll
Terrain condition - rough/unevenFactor
Main gear collapsedLanding - roll

Analysis

The airplane collided with the terrain during an overrun landing. The flight was conducting cloud seeding operations. The pilot-in-command stated they ran out of chemical near Kenmare, so they decided to land there. They over flew the runway and noticed the windsock was indicating a wind out of the northeast and they were not that strong. The pilot said they then entered the traffic pattern for runway 08 and flew the approach with 2 notches of flaps. She reported she noticed the airplane was still at 90 knots while close to the runway. The copilot added the last notch of flaps and the airplane touched down approximately one-quarter the way down the runway. The pilot-in-command stated the airplane would not slow down on the runway even though both she and the copilot were applying the brakes. She stated that she then applied full throttle in an attempt to abort the landing, however it was too late and the airplane traveled off the end of the runway. The airplane skipped over a road and came to rest after skidding sideways in a field. She said that once they exited the airplane, she noticed that the winds had shifted and that there was now a strong wind from the west. The closest aviation weather reporting station is located at Minot, North Dakota, located 37 nautical miles southeast of Kenmare. The winds reported during an observation taken at 2054 were from 110 degrees at 8 knots. The next observation taken at 2154, showed the winds were from 350 degrees at 17 knots gusting to 23 knots.

Factual narrative

On August 25, 2002, at 2045 central daylight time, a Piper PA-34-200T, N9696C, operated by Weather Modification, Inc., collided with the terrain during an overrun landing on runway 08 (3,700 feet by 60 feet, dry asphalt) at the Kenmare Municipal Airport, Kenmare, North Dakota. Neither of the commercial pilots on board were injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The Title 14 CFR Part 91 business flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight originated at Stanley, North Dakota, at 1746.

The pilot-in-command reported they were conducting a cloud seeding operation during the flight. She stated they ran out of chemical near Kenmare and after contacting her company, they decided to land there. The pilot reported they over flew the runway and noticed the windsock was indicating a wind out of the northeast. The pilot stated the windsock was not straight out and the wind did not seem that strong. She said they then entered the traffic pattern for runway 08 and everything was normal during the approach. She said they made the approach with 2 notches of flaps. As they approached the runway she noticed the airplane was still at 90 knots. The copilot added the remainder of the flaps and the airplane touched down approximately one-quarter the way down the runway.

The pilot-in-command stated the airplane would not slow down on the runway even though both she and the copilot were applying the brakes. She stated she then applied full throttle in an attempt to abort the landing; however, it was too late and the airplane traveled off the end of the runway. The airplane skipped over a road and came to rest after skidding sideways in a field. She said that once they exited the airplane, she noticed that the wind had shifted and that there was now a strong wind from the west.

The closest aviation weather reporting station is located at Minot, North Dakota, located 37 nautical miles southeast of Kenmare. The winds reported during an observation taken at 2054 were from 110 degrees at 8 knots. The next observation taken at 2154, showed the winds were from 350 degrees at 17 knots gusting to 23 knots.

Aircraft

Registration
N9696C
Reported as
Piper PA-34-200T
Category
Airplane
Serial number
34-7870210
Airframe hours
3,679
Engine
Teledyne Continental TSIO-360-EB, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Business · Part 91
Registered owner
Weather Modification, Inc.
Airworthiness certificate
Special, Restricted (Special)
Last inspection
Annual · March 26, 2002 · 95 hours before
Departed
08D · Stanley, ND
Destination
7K5 · Kenmare, ND
Airport
7K5 · Kenmare Municipal, runway 08, 3,700 × 60 ft, asphalt

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 · 2

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
24
Injuries
None
Certificates
Commercial, Flight instructor
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Last flight review
June 8, 2001
Seat
Left
Flight hours
1,224 total · 101 in this make and model · 1,025 as pilot in command · 102 in the last 90 days · 24 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Role
Co-pilot
Age
30
Injuries
None
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Last flight review
January 5, 2002
Seat
Right
Flight hours
345 total · 55 in this make and model · 71 in the last 90 days

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
270° at 20 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.