- Date
- October 3, 2004, 09:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Marion, IA
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7841NPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - Des Moines FSDO
- FAA report
- 20041003024009A
- Case key
- 60494
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 inadequate compensation for the gusting wind conditions and his failure to maintain aircraft control. Factors to the accident were the encountered turbulence, the gusting wind conditions and the airport hangar.
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 an airport hangar while attempting a go-around. The pilot reported that he elected to go-around after encountering turbulence during landing approach to runway 17. The pilot stated "it felt like a gust of wind went under my right wing & belly and just started pushing me over, to the left. I immediately applied right rudder and aileron as hard as I could and tried to push the nose down but there was no response." The pilot reported he "didn't have a chance to put flaps back up or try to cut power." The pilot stated the airplane went "up and over" to the left and impacted the airport hangar. A nearby weather observing station reported the winds at the time of the accident were 200 degrees true at 15 knots, gusting to 19 knots.
Factual narrative
On October 3, 2004, at 0930 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180, N7841N, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it impacted an airport hangar while attempting a go-around from runway 17 (3,775 feet by 100 feet, dry asphalt/turf) at the Marion Airport (C17), Marion, Iowa. 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 passenger reported minor injuries. The flight departed Quad City International Airport (MLI), Moline, Illinois, at 0830.
According to the pilot, on his first landing approach at C17 he encountered "choppy" turbulence and he decided to go-around for another attempt. The pilot reported that during the second approach the airplane encountered the turbulence again and he initiated a go-around. The pilot stated, "Immediately it felt like a gust of wind went under my right wing & belly and just started pushing me over, to the left. I immediately applied right rudder and aileron as hard as I could and tried to push the nose down but there was no response." The pilot reported he "didn't have a chance to put flaps back up or try to cut power." The pilot stated the airplane went "up and over" to the left and impacted the airport hangar. The pilot stated the passenger might have inadvertently "stomped on the pedals" during the go-around. The pilot had a total flight experience of 86 hours, of which 25 hours were in a Piper PA-28 model aircraft.
According to the passenger, when the airplane was about 20 feet above ground level "it seemed like the wind pushed the plane all a sudden to the left" and the airplane impacted the hangar.
The closest weather reporting station to the accident site was located at the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, about 12.0 nm southwest of the accident site. The airport is equipped with an Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS). The following weather conditions were reported at 0952:
Wind 200 degrees true at 15 knots gusting to 19 knots, visibility 10 statute miles (sm), sky clear, temperature 12 degrees Celsius, dew point 02 degrees Celsius, altimeter setting 30.13 inches of mercury, sea-level pressure 1020.5 millibars.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7841N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-5296
- Airframe hours
- 3,522
- Engine
- Textron Lycoming O-360-A3A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Flying Country Club, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2004 · 47 hours before
- Departed
- MLI · Moline, IL
- Destination
- C17 · Marion, IA
- Airport
- C17 · Marion Airport, runway 17, 3,775 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 48
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- September 3, 2004
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 86 total · 25 in this make and model · 8 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 15 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- CID, 12 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.