Argyle Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Argyle, New York 12809
Tuesady, February 19, 2002 16:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While landing on a 2,400-foot long, turf runway, the airplane traveled over a "slushy" portion of the runway and the pilot was unable to stop. The airplane traveled off the end of the runway, and came to rest in a ditch. The pilot did not report any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. Examination of the runway by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that it was contaminated with ice, snow, and water.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper in-flight decision to land on a contaminated runway. A factor was the contaminated runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/19/2002
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Argyle
Event State NEW YORK
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 12809
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport Argyle Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 1C3
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 330
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 130
Weather Observation Facility ID GFL
Elevation of weather observation facility 328
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.2
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 12216
NTSB Notification Source FAA EROC
NTSB Notification Date Feb 20 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1730
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2002 10:10AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Albany, NY

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4456J
NTSB Number NYC02LA064
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-28-140
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 28-22864
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 2 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 4390
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Howard Fisher
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Queensbury
Aircraft Owner State NY
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 12804
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 No
Departure Airport Code GFL
Departure City Glens Falls
Departure State NY
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1545
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 1C3
Destination City Argyle
Destination State NY
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 23 2002 2:20PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 21
Runway Length 2400
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --