- Date
- April 5, 1982, 10:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Mcsherrystown, PA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N36737Piper PA-44-180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report April 5, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820405008429A
- Case key
- 71638
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 reported that when he arrived at night, there were snow showers at the airport. While turning final, he turnedhis landing lights on. However, he reported that he could see better with the landing lights off, so he turned them off. After touching down on the grass runway, he elected to slow down and make a 180 degree turn to taxi back down the runway to the terminal building. During the landing roll, he moved over to the left side of the runway toward a ditch that protruded 26 ft inside the runway lights. The ditch was located about 1654 ft from the approach end of the runway where a stream crossed through a culvert, under the runway. There were indications that the ditch had erroded inside therunway lights after the airport was certified. Six yellow halves of 55 gallon drums were used to mark the obstruction, but they were not lighted. As the pilot was slowing near the left side of the runway, the left main gear and nosewheel dropped into the ditch.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N36737
- Reported as
- Piper PA-44-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 44-7995006
- Airframe hours
- 339
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Fox Enterprises
- Registered owner
- Fox Enterprises
- Departed
- Harrisburg, PA
- Destination
- Mcsherrystown, PA
- Airport
- HVV · Hanover, runway 9, 2,690 × 0 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
- 55
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown, Invalid Medical for flight
- Flight hours
- 6,100 total · 40 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 120° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,200 ft overcast
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.