- Date
- April 26, 2003, 12:05 local (17:05 UTC)
- Place
- Wamego, KS
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7441WWalker Lancair IV
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 25, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Adminisration - Wichita FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030426009759A
- Case key
- 56944
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 not maintaining altitude/clearance from the runway while maneuvering on final approach. A factor to the accident was the pilot's misjudgment of his altitude while on final approach.
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 impacted the runway while performing an S-turn maneuver while landing. The pilot reported he was following another airplane on final approach to runway 17 and had to perform S-turns to increase spacing. He noted that runway 17 was narrower than he was accustomed to, and the perceived aircraft altitude was higher than it actually was. The pilot reported there was no mechanical malfunction or failure.
Factual narrative
On April 26, 2003, at 1205 central daylight time, an amateur-built Walker Lancair IV, N7441W, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage during an in-flight collision with runway 17 (3,184 feet by 45 feet, dry/asphalt) while landing at the Wamego Municipal Airport, Wamego, Kansas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and his passenger reported no injuries. The flight departed Clay Center Municipal Airport, Clay Center, Kansas, at 1145.
The pilot reported he was following another airplane on final approach to runway 17 and had to perform S-turns to increase spacing. The pilot stated the airplane impacted the runway while performing a S-turn maneuver. The pilot noted runway 17 was narrower than he was accustomed to. He stated the perceived aircraft altitude was higher than it actually was.
The pilot reported, on the NTSB accident form, there was no mechanical malfunction or failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7441W
- Reported as
- Walker Lancair IV
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- LIV076
- Airframe hours
- 90
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-550-B, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Crest Quarry Properties, INC.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 20, 2002 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- CYW · Clay Center, KS
- Destination
- 69K · Wamego, KS
- Airport
- 69K · Wamego Municipal Airport, runway 17, 3,184 × 45 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- June 21, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,380 total · 90 in this make and model · 15 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- MHK, 19 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N7441W · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.