Bloomington Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bloomington, Illinois 61701
Friday, August 3, 1984 21:15 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

PLT DEPARTED ON LOCAL FLT SHORTLY BEFORE THE TWR CLOSED. PLT RECALLED FINAL TWR TRANSMISSION INCLUDED ALTIMETER SETTING WHICH WAS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE ON HIS INSTRUMENT. ON RETURN TO THE ARPT, 35 MINS AFTER DEPARTURE, FOG AND HAZE HAD REDUCED VISIBILITY TO ABOUT 2 MILES. ON TURN TO FINAL, ACFT DESCENDED ABOUT 400 FT BELOW NORMAL APPROACH PATH. LANDING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED PWR LINES AHEAD. PLT FELT THAT AN EVASIVE PULL-UP MANEUVER WOULD NOT ALLOW CLEARANCE SO POWER WAS ADDED AND ATTEMPT MADE TO FLY UNDER THE LINES WITHOUT A VISUAL GROUND REFERENCE. THE ACFT IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A CORN FIELD.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/3/1984
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 2115
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City BLOOMINGTON
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 61701
Event Date Year 1984
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport BLOOMINGTON
Event Location Nearest Airport ID BMI
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 3
Degrees magnetic from airport 110
Airport Elevation 0
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2045 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 290
Weather Observation Facility ID BMI
Elevation of weather observation facility 875
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Obscured
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 2
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 2265
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time 0
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 26198
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 9:15AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5881Z
NTSB Number CHI84LA333
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-22-108
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-22-108
Aircraft Serial Number 229744
Certified Max Gross Weight 1650
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 13 1983 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 39
Airframe Hours 2869
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RALPH E. GAINES
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1105 N. OAK
Aircraft Owner City BLOOMINTTON
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 61701
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 2040
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Descent
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:36AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length 0
Runway Width 0
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --