Piper PA-28-181 accident near Sandusky, OH
On July 20, 2003, a Piper PA-28-181 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Sandusky, OH. 4 people were seriously injured. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 20, 2003
- Place
- Sandusky, OH
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 0 fatal, 4 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 41.433°N, 82.652°W
- NTSB ID
- 20030728X01201
NTSB summary
On July 20, 2003, about 1050 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-181, N8199D, was substantially damaged during a go-around at the Griffing-Sandusky Airport (SKY), Sandusky, Ohio. The certificated private pilot and three passengers were seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight that departed Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA), Fort Wayne, Indiana. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane was on approach to runway 27, a 3,559-foot-long, 60-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The pilot reported that while turning onto the final approach path, he observed a twin-engine airplane on a taxiway near the runway. The pilot was not certain if the airplane was going to utilize the runway, and elected to go-around. The pilot pushed the throttle full-forward and kept his right hand on the power quadrant. The airplane was configured with two notches of flaps during the approach, and the pilot retracted one notch of flaps. The pilot looked over his left shoulder and observed the twin-engine airplane passing under his airplane's left wing, which was approximately 300 feet above the ground, and climbing. The engine then began to "stumble," and he felt the yoke in his left hand becoming very heavy. He looked down at the power quadrant and noticed that the engine mixture control was pulled back. The pilot pushed mixture control in and lowered the airplane's nose to avoid a stall; however, the airplane struck trees about 1/2 mile beyond the departure end of the runway. The wreckage was moved to a hangar
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain the engine mixture control during the go-around, which resulted in a loss of power, and in-flight collision with trees.
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Browse: Ohio · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
