- Date
- June 17, 2005, 13:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Wheeling, IL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N92RKKirby Christen Eagle
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 27, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - Du Page FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050617023899A
- Case key
- 61955
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 wind conditions, and his failure to maintain obstacle clearance, which resulted in the airplane drifting during the landing flare and impacting the taxiway light.
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 a taxiway light during a go-around. The pilot reported that during the landing flare the airplane "caught gust of wind [and] we were moved to the right." The pilot stated that he noticed the airplane was not on the runway centerline and "decided to make a go-around, but little too late and caught a landing light." The pilot continued the go-around and made an uneventful landing. Wind data recorded at 1353 indicated the wind was 050 degrees magnetic at 10 knots. No wind gusts were reported during the hour before and after the accident.
Factual narrative
On June 17, 2005, at 1330 central daylight time, an amateur-built Kirby Christen Eagle, N92RK, sustained substantial damage when it impacted a taxiway light during a go-around from runway 06 (3,660 feet by 50 feet, dry asphalt) at the Palwaukee Municipal Airport (PWK), Wheeling, Illinois. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and his passenger were not injured. The flight departed Morris Municipal Airport (C09), Morris, Illinois, at 1300.
The pilot reported that during the landing flare the airplane "caught gust of wind [and] we were moved to the right." The pilot stated that he noticed the airplane was not on the runway centerline and "decided to make a go-around, but little too late and caught a landing light." The pilot continued the go-around and made an uneventful landing.
Post-accident inspection of the airplane showed substantial damage to the leading edge of the lower-right wing. The damage was consistent with the lower-right wing striking a taxiway light. Fractured portions of a taxiway light were found adjacent to the runway during a post-accident examination.
Wind information was collected from the weather observing station located at PWK. The wind data recorded at 1353 indicated the wind was 050 degrees magnetic at 10 knots. No wind gusts were reported during the hour before and after the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N92RK
- Reported as
- Kirby Christen Eagle
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 0391
- Airframe hours
- 360
- Engine
- Lycoming AEIO-360-A1D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 1, 2004 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- C09 · Morris, IL
- Destination
- PWK · Wheeling, IL
- Airport
- PWK · Palwaukee Municipal Airport, runway 06, 3,660 × 50 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
- 28
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2004
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 180 total · 30 in this make and model · 90 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,700 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.95 inHg
- Observed at
- PWK
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.