- Date
- June 8, 1988, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Marion, IN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N3737PPiper PA-22-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 29, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880608019219A
- Case key
- 14090
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 pilot became disoriented during flight and made an unscheduled stop in a corn field to ask for directions to his destination airport. During taxi for takeoff from the field, the pilot failed to maintain adequate visual lookout, and struck a manhole cover shearing the nose gear. The pilot reported that he was fatigued at the time of the accident from lack of sleep.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3737P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22 3457
- Airframe hours
- 4,010
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 151 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Phelps, Ervin W.
- Registered owner
- Phelps, Ervin W.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 19, 1987 · 11 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Gas City, IN
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 79
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,818 total · 500 in this make and model · 1,638 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 16 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 97 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FWA, 37 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.