Piper PA-28RT-201 N81898

Summary

On 8 May 2004 at about 19:30 local time, a Piper PA-28RT-201 registered N81898 was involved in an accident near DeKalb, Illinois, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 May 2004 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

DeKalb, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

DeKalb Taylor Municipal (DKB)

Coordinates

41.9317, -88.7083

Aircraft

Piper PA-28RT-201

Registration

N81898

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

West Chicago → DeKalb

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI04CA117

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the pilot and his flight instructor to identify the location of the relocated threshold and proper touchdown point, which resulted in the airplane striking the construction barricade while on approach. A factor to the accident was the construction barricade.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane struck a runway construction barricade during a simulated forced landing on runway 20. The runway 20 threshold had been relocated 600 feet towards the departure end because of an on-going runway construction project. Both the first 600 feet of the existing runway surface and the new pavement were marked with yellow painted chevrons, indicating those portions of pavement were closed for landing, takeoff, and taxing. The pilot stated he felt the airplane "was not going to make a landing on the existing runway and would probably touchdown on a section of the new part of the runway." The pilot stated he increased the engine power in order to arrest the descent, but the airplane touched-down on the new pavement. According to the certified flight instructor (CFI), while en route his student monitored the automated surface observing system and noted "runway 20 had a 600 foot displaced threshold." Prior to the accident approach the pilot performed two approaches, both of which were made to the closed section of runway 20. The CFI reported that on the accident approach the airplane experienced a hard landing near the intersection of the new and existing pavement sections. The CFI stated that he did not notice any construction barricades positioned at the end of runway 20. The airport manager reported that a runway construction barricade, originally positioned at the intersection of the existing pavement and new pavement sections, was damaged on the day of the accident. The broken portions of the barricade were distributed in a way consistent with an airplane hitting the barricade on landing approach.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.