La Porte Municipal Airpor Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Laporte, Indiana 46350
Sunday, August 2, 1998 13:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The student pilot said the airplane drifted beyond the runway's edge due to a sudden gust of wind from the airplane's right side. The airplane's left main landing gear collided with a runway marking sign shortly after the pilot applied full power for a go around. The landing gear separated from the wing's main spar attach point and fell to the earth. The pilot flew the airplane for about 1-hour after the accident returning to the airport and landing on the same runway he had departed.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

was the student pilot s inadequate compensation for the wind conditions he encountered during the landing phase. A factor in this accident was the pilot s lack of total experience.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/2/1998
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1330
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City LAPORTE
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 46350
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport LA PORTE MUNICIPAL AIRPOR
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PPO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 812
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Witness
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
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) 695
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 2 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2239
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:41AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8398R
NTSB Number CHI98LA289
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-28-140
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28-140
Aircraft Serial Number 28-22275
Certified Max Gross Weight 2150
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jul 21 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 13
Airframe Hours 4017
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JLG AIR, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1602 WELLER AVE.
Aircraft Owner City LAPORTE
Aircraft Owner State IN
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 46350
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PPO
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PPO
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
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 2
Runway Length 4400
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --