- Date
- February 4, 2000, 10:50 local (16:50 UTC)
- Place
- Fayette, AL
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N8924TPiper PA-28R-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000204008519A
- Case key
- 48712
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 directional and altitude control of the airplane during a ago-around maneuver, resulting in collision with a fence and utility pole.
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
According to the pilot, at the point of flare during his la nding he experienced wind forces that displaced the airplane sideward toward the runway's right edge and counterclockwise, nose into the wind. He initiated a go-around, but did not achieve a climb, and collided with the airport's perimeter fence and a utility pole. The pilot reported the mishap was not a result of any mechanical malfunction.
Factual narrative
On February 4, 2000, about 1050 central standard time, a Piper PA-28R-200, N8924T, registered to Waycross Aviation Sales, Inc., operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed while attempting a go-around near Fayette, Alabama. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane received substantial damage, a fence and a roadside sign were damaged, and the private-rated pilot and three passengers were not injured. The flight departed the same airport about 15 minutes before the accident.
According to the pilot, he and three passengers departed runway 36 and circled the airport for about 10 minutes. The winds were from 280 degrees at 8 knots when he took off and were 280 at 6 knots when he re-entered the pattern for a landing on the same runway. At about the flare point, the airplane encountered a wind gust that displaced the airplane toward the right runway edge and weathercocked the fuselage counterclockwise, nose into the wind. He decided to conduct a go-around, but the airplane did not climb, and the route of flight went from near the right runway edge to off the left edge, between two hangars, and collision with a chain link fence, a utility pole, and a sign. The pilot added that most of his instruction was in the 180 hp Arrow with two occupants vs this 200 hp model with four occupants. He also mentioned he thought no mechanical malfunction was causal to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8924T
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28R-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28R7135224
- Airframe hours
- 3,400
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C1C, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Waycross Aviation Sales, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 5, 1999 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- M95
- Airport
- M95 · Richard Arthur Field, runway 36, 4,838 × 80 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
- 61
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 185 total · 41 as pilot in command · 67 in the last 90 days · 27 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TCL, 36 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.