Piper PA-24-260 N8916P

Summary

On 21 January 2010 at about 20:35 local time, a Piper PA-24-260 registered N8916P, operated by Wenck Kent W, was involved in an accident near Cherokee, Iowa, 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

21 January 2010 at 20:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Cherokee, Iowa, United States

Nearest airport

Cherokee County Regional (CKP)

Coordinates

42.7311, -95.5558

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-260

Registration

N8916P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Wenck Kent W

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lamar → Cherokee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10CA106

Nobody was injured.

The pilot misjudged his altitude while on short final approach.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot flew an instrument approach to runway 36 and decided to circle to land on runway 18 as the winds slightly favored runway 18, and because runway 36 contained a slight downhill slope. While on final approach the pilot lowered full flaps and slowed the airplane to 80 miles per hour. The pilot intended to land as close to the end of the runway as possible because he was concerned about the lack of braking action on the snow- and ice-covered runway. The landing gear subsequently contacted a hard snowbank about 30 feet before the approach end of the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane's firewall. The airplane then slid about 450 feet down the center of the runway prior to coming to rest. The pilot reported that it was difficult to judge the terrain as everything was snow covered and white. The pilot did not report having any problems with the operation of the airplane prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.