- Date
- August 5, 1998, 17:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- West Liberty, KY
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3023MPiper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 11, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980805025099A
- Case key
- 43618
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 inadequate planning for a downslope landing. A factor was the pilot's lack of training for downslope landing situations.
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 stated that during the landing, the airplane didn't touch down when expected. He eventually got the airplane on the ground, but felt it was not slowing enough to stop on the runway. He added power and took off, but on climb-out the airplane struck trees and crashed. The pilot wrote that at the time of the accident, the airplane was operating normally. He stated that he was unaware that the 2,400 foot runway had a 1.5% downgrade, and that he had never landed on a runway with a downslope before. He also stated that he 'hadn't appreciated the effect the slope would have on braking.'
Factual narrative
On August 5, 1998, about 1700 Eastern Daylight Time, a Piper PA-28-181, N3023M, was substantially damaged after an aborted landing at West Liberty Airport (9I3), West Liberty, Kentucky. The certificated private pilot was uninjured, and the passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed for the flight between Blue Grass Airport (LEX), Lexington, Kentucky, and West Liberty. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot stated that during the landing, the airplane didn't touch down when expected. He eventually got the airplane on the ground, but felt it was not slowing enough to stop on the runway. He added power and took off, but on climb-out the airplane struck trees and crashed. The pilot wrote that at the time of the accident, the airplane was operating normally. He stated he was unaware that the 2,400 foot runway had a 1.5% downgrade, and that he had never landed on a runway with a downslope before. He also stated that he "hadn't appreciated the effect the slope would have on braking."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3023M
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7890285
- Airframe hours
- 4,390
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4M, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lexington Flying Club, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 13, 1998 · 99 hours before
- Departed
- LEX · Lexington, KY
- Destination
- 9I3 · KY
- Airport
- 9I3 · West Liberty, runway 25, 2,400 × 60 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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 249 total · 130 in this make and model · 205 as pilot in command · 7 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LEX, 68 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.
Other investigations on N3023M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.