Great Lakes 2T1-A2 N1XG

Summary

On 22 August 2004 at about 20:00 local time, a Great Lakes 2T1-A2 registered N1XG was involved in an accident near Elkton, Kentucky, United States. One person was 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

22 August 2004 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Elkton, Kentucky, United States

Nearest airport

Standard Field (1M6)

Coordinates

36.8028, -87.1764

Aircraft

Great Lakes 2T1-A2

Registration

N1XG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Russellville → Elkton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD04LA043

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's misidentification of the runway, which resulted in the airplane striking an obscured runway marker. Factors were the tailwheel airplane's reduced forward and lateral visibility during landing rollout and inadequate maintenance of the airport facility, including the failure to replace missing runway boundary markers and a confusing mowing pattern adjacent to the runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Two airplanes, in loose formation, made a left break over the runway, entered the traffic pattern, and completed a landing to the turf runway. Although visible from the air, both the runway marker and stanchion were obscured by overgrown grass during the landing rollout. During its rollout, the second airplane struck an electrical conduit mounted on a stanchion, and sustained minor damage. The runway boundary marker was half of a plastic barrel, cut lengthwise, and the stanchion was about 6 feet outboard the boundary marker, 8-10 inches high. Although visible from the air, both the runway marker and stanchion were obscured by overgrown grass during the landing rollout. Boundary markers were supposed to be located about 300 feet apart, on each side of the runway; however, two consecutive left-side runway boundary markers were missing. The left-side runway boundary markers ran almost the entire length of the airport property, about in the middle of the airport's width. One-third of the airport property had been mowed the day before the accident. The mowed area was approximately L- shaped, and included the length of the field to the left of the runway, and the approach end of the runway, up to the second boundary marker. The rest of the runway had last been mowed 8 days prior to the accident, and the pilots thought they were landing on an "imaginary centerline" in the middle of the airport.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.