- Date
- September 7, 2003, 19:00 local (Sep 8, 2003, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Atwood, IL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N615APiper PA-22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - Springfield FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030907021489A
- Case key
- 57939
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 failure to correctly identify the location of the airport. Factors to the accident include the pilot flying while fatigued, which contributed to his misidentification of the runway, and the rough/uneven soybean field.
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 nosed over during a landing in a soybean field. The pilot reported he flew a traffic pattern above a soybean field that he mistakenly identified as the grass runway at IL31. The pilot stated he did not realize his mistake until the aircraft contacted the soybean crop just prior to touchdown. The pilot reported that it "was to late to go around so [he] attempted to land." During the landing attempt the airplane nosed over. The pilot stated that the soybean field in which the landing was made was approximately 1/2 mile from the accident location. The pilot stated that he was "fatigued" during the accident flight, which most likely contributed to his misidentification of the landing area. The pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented if he had verified the location of the runway while in the traffic pattern.
Factual narrative
On September 7, 2003, at 1900 central daylight time, a Piper PA-22, N615A, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over while attempting to land in a soybean field near Atwood, Illinois. 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 the passenger reported no injuries. The flight departed Tuscola Airport (K96), Tuscola, Illinois, at 1800.
According to the pilot's written statement, the intended destination was Cooch Landing Area Airport (IL31), which is a private-use airport near Atwood, Illinois. The pilot reported he flew a traffic pattern above a soybean field that he mistakenly identified as the grass runway at IL31. The pilot stated he did not realize his mistake until the aircraft contacted the soybean crop just prior to touchdown. The pilot reported that it "was to late to go around so [he] attempted to land." During the landing attempt the airplane nosed over. The pilot stated that the soybean field in which the landing was made was approximately 1/2 mile from the accident location.
The pilot stated that he was "fatigued" during the accident flight, which most likely contributed to his misidentification of the landing area.
The pilot reported that the accident could have been prevented if he had verified the location of the runway while in the traffic pattern.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N615A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-18
- Airframe hours
- 2,283.7
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-D2, 135 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 17, 2003 · 12.9 hours before
- Departed
- K96 · Tuscola, IL
- Destination
- Atwood, IL
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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- March 15, 2003
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 95 total · 28 in this make and model · 47 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- CMI, 15 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.