Parson Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Arthur City, Texas 75411
Saturday, July 26, 1997 9:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that on short final the airplane was 'a little fast and [he] thought about going around,' but committed to landing. The pilot applied the brakes immediately upon landing. The grass was wet and the airplane was not going to stop before the end of the runway. The pilot reported that he made a 90-degree left turn, towards an open field, approximately 60 yards from the departure end of the runway, to avoid a large ditch located just off the departure end of the runway. The airplane contacted a tree with the right wing tip and rolled through a barbed wire fence. The airplane's left wing was resting on a fence post when the left wheel dropped into a hole which 'buckled the main spar at the outboard skin lap.'

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to abort the landing. Factors were the wet, grass runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/26/1997
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 945
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City ARTHUR CITY
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 75411
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport PARSON FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NONE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 540
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 956 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID PRX
Elevation of weather observation facility 547
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 2149
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 841
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 26 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 0
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:25PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7014P
NTSB Number FTW97LA287
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-24-180
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-24-180
Aircraft Serial Number 24-2162
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 14 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 7
Airframe Hours 3300
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BILLY R. COPELAND
Aircraft Owner Street Address RR 1 BOX 165
Aircraft Owner City ARTHUR CITY
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 75411
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 830
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 15
Runway Length 2000
Runway Width 85
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --