- Date
- March 18, 2003, 20:10 local (Mar 19, 2003, 02:10 UTC)
- Place
- West Chicago, IL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N930DEPiper PA-34-200T
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-DuPage FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030318005709A
- Case key
- 56651
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 flare resulting in a hard 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.
Analysis
The airplane sustained substantial damage during a hard landing at night. The pilot reported, "Because it was windy I flew at 100 kt on final, and on touchdown I felt that the nose was too low. I pulled back on the elevator and the nose came up, and then I lowered the nose again and again it was too low. I stopped the engines with the mixture and the plane stopped, nose down." Inspection of the airplane revealed that the nose gear was collapsed. The nose gear support tube was pushed vertically up through the top of the airframe about 6 inches. The center windshield airframe post was pushed up, and the left and right windshields were separated from the cockpit's windshield frame. All three blade tips on both propellers were bent aft and exhibited chordwise gouging and scraping.
Factual narrative
On March 18, 2003, at 2010 central standard time, a Piper PA-34-200T, N930DE, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing on runway 2R (5,100 feet by 100 feet, concrete) at DuPage Airport (DPA), West Chicago, Illinois. The Title 14 CFR Part 91 repositioning flight departed Midway Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois, at 1950 en route to DPA. The pilot and one passenger were not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan was filed.
The pilot reported he landed at Midway to check the weather. He reported, "I flew on to Dupage on VFR, and was told to land on 2R. Because it was windy I flew at 100 kt on final, and on touchdown I felt that the nose was too low. I pulled back on the elevator and the nose came up, and then I lowered the nose again and again it was too low. I stopped the engines with the mixture and the plane stopped, nose down."
Inspection of the airplane revealed that the nose gear was collapsed. The nose gear support tube was pushed vertically up through the top of the airframe about 6 inches. The center windshield airframe post was pushed up, and the left and right windshields were separated from the cockpit's windshield frame. All three blade tips on both propellers were bent aft and exhibited chordwise gouging and scraping.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N930DE
- Reported as
- Piper PA-34-200T
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 348070176
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-360-E, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Registered owner
- DE Transport
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- MDW · Chicago, IL
- Destination
- DPA · West Chicago, IL
- Airport
- DPA · DuPage Airport, runway 2R, 5,100 × 100 ft, concrete
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
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Last flight review
- July 24, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,920 total · 85 in this make and model · 2,674 as pilot in command · 64 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 50° at 17 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,400 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.87 inHg
- Observed at
- DPA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.