- Date
- April 7, 2003, 17:40 local (22:40 UTC)
- Place
- Moran, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N18141Piper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030407004629A
- Case key
- 56774
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
Landing short of the runway due to the pilot's failure to maintain a proper glide path, which resulted in the airplane impacting a tree. A contributing factor was the short runway.
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
While landing at a private grass airstrip, the single-engine airplane touched down short of the runway. The airplane bounced, drifted right and struck a 7-foot tall mesquite tree. The aircraft came to rest on its nose, approximately 20 feet past the tree.
Factual narrative
On April 7, 2003, approximately 1740 central daylight time, a Piper PA-18 tailwheel-equipped airplane, N18141, was substantially damaged when it impacted a tree while landing at a private airstrip near Moran, Texas. The airplane was registered to two private individuals and operated by the pilot. The private pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight originated from Ranger, Texas, at 1730.
The pilot reported to the NTSB investigator-in-charge, that while landing to the west, the airplane touched down about 10 feet short of the 800-foot grass runway. The airplane bounced, drifted right and struck a 7-foot tall mesquite tree. The aircraft came to rest on its nose, approximately 20 feet past the tree. The pilot added that the left wing tip and aileron were damaged. The right wing leading edge outboard of the wing strut was dented, and the underside of the right wing had several tears in the fabric. The pilot stated that the wind was from 290 degrees at 15 knots gusting to 20 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N18141
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-1332
- Airframe hours
- 1,583
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Robert B. Butler
- Registered owner
- James P. Shultz and Robert B. Butler
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 15, 2002 · 58 hours before
- Departed
- F23 · Ranger, TX
- Destination
- NONE · Moran, TX
- Airport
- NONE · Private, runway 270, 800 × 40 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
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- June 29, 2002
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,600 total · 600 in this make and model · 1,600 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 10 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.