- Date
- July 29, 1989, 16:40 local (21:40 UTC)
- Place
- Watertown, WI
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3954RPiper PA-28-180
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 9, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890729025699A
- Case key
- 14392
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
Improper planning/decision by the pilot and his misjudgement of distance and speed during the landing, which resulted in failure to attain a proper touchdown point. Contributing factors were: the weather conditions, the pilot's continued flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), inadequate fuel supply to make a go-around, wet runway with hydroplaning conditions, the fence, the ditch, and the roadway.
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
Drg the landing roll, the acft ran off the departure end of the wet rwy & went thru a fence & ditch before coming to a stop on a roadway. The wx conds at the time of the acdnt were described as 'mucky,' with low ceilings (200' to 400'), low visibilities (1 to 1-1/2 mi), & a steady rain. A witness, who saw the acft on short final apch for the rwy, rprtd that it appeared to be too fast. He estimated the acft touched down aprx 600' from the departure end of the 4000' rwy. The 63 yr old VFR plt & the 86 yr old acft owner told witnesses that they did not have enough fuel to go around. An inspn of the fuel tanks revealed about 5 gal of fuel in the left tank, while the right tank was almost empty. The acft owner/right seat passenger was also a rated plt, but she had open heart surgery in late 1988 & no longer held a valid med cert. Aprx 39 mi ese at milwaukee, the 1650 CDT wx was in part: partial obscuration, 3500' broken, visibility 1.5 mi haze & light rain, wind 070 deg at 8 KTS.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3954R
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7105059
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A3A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Whyte, Edna G.
- Registered owner
- Whyte, Edna G
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- DMO · Sedalia, MO
- Destination
- RYV
- Airport
- RYV · Watertown, runway 23, 3,965 × 75 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
- 63
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,053 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 400 ft unknown
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MKE, 39 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.