- Date
- June 8, 2020, 12:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- St. Mary's, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N863KGreat Lakes 2T 1A
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing area undershoot
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20200608010719A
- Case key
- 101413
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 maintain proper glide path during final approach which resulted in a collision with airport equipment short of the runway.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that after about 15 minutes of flying around the airport, he returned for landing. While he was on the base leg of the airport traffic pattern, he thought the airplane was a little high, so he reduced engine power so he could join the final approach on a 3-degree glide slope. As he entered the final approach, he added a little power and aimed for a touchdown point about 1,000 ft down the runway, which was sloped; it was higher on the approach end and dipped down in the middle. During short final, he realized that he descended below the glide path and his sink rate was higher than expected, so he added engine power, but shortly after doing so, he felt a "bang" and jolt, followed by a pitch down and impact with the terrain. The airplane struck a localizer antenna near the approach end of the runway and skidded to a stop in the grass. The forward portion of the fuselage, right wing, and horizontal stabilizer were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N863K
- Reported as
- Great Lakes 2T 1A (Undesignat)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 124
- Built
- 1932
- Airframe hours
- 1,190.88
- Engine
- Warner SuperScarab, 165 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2020
- Departed
- OYM · St. Mary's, PA
- Destination
- OYM · St. Mary's, PA
- Airport
- OYM · St Marys Muni, runway 10, 4,300 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- 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
- 75
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 23, 2018
- Seat
- Rear
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 23,700 total · 20 in this make and model · 19,900 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.14 inHg
- Observed at
- OYM, 1 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 2, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.3 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.