Elwood Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Elwood, Indiana 46036
Friday, August 30, 2002 8:15 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane contacted trees during an overrun landing. The pilot reported that during the flight, the winds seemed to be out of the south. He reported he entered the traffic pattern to land on runway 27 and there was a slight southerly wind. The pilot reported, he used 20 degrees of flaps and the airplane touched down as the indicated airspeed dropped from 70 mph to 65 mph. The pilot's last recollection prior to the accident was "braking hard." Tire tracks on grass were visible from mid-point on the runway up to the accident site. N5742F took off from the departed airport with 4 other airplanes that were all en route to the same destination. The pilots of the first two airplanes to arrive stated the windsock and tetrahedron indicated the winds were out of the east, so they landed on runway 09. N5742F was the third airplane to land. The pilot of the fourth airplane reported that the pilot of N5742F made one go-around prior to the accident landing on runway 27 in order to avoid traffic that was landing on runway 09. This fourth pilot reported that even though the windsock indicated the winds favored runway 09, he followed N5742F in landing on runway 27 to avoid conflicting traffic. He reported the winds were stronger then he thought, his landing was longer than anticipated, and he had to use "hard" braking in order to get his airplane stopped. The fifth pilot to land reported the windsock and tetrahedron indicated the winds were directly out of the east so he landed on runway 09. He stated that while he was on downwind, he saw N5742F landing downwind and the airplane was "too fast." This pilot also reported that the grass was wet. Winds reported at AID, located 13 nautical miles southeast of 3I1, at 0850 were from 090 degrees at 10 knots. Winds reported at Muncie, Indiana, located 20 nautical miles east of 3I1, at 0821 were from 100 degrees at 8 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's misjudgment of speed/distance and his failure to perform a go-around. The pilot's inaccurate evaluation of the wind, a tailwind, selection of the wrong runway, and wet grass are contributing factors.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/30/2002
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 815
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Elwood
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 46036
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 401510N
Event Location Longitude 0854959W
Event Location Airport Elwood
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 3I1
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 866
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 850 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 140
Weather Observation Facility ID AID
Elevation of weather observation facility 919
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 13
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 6000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.25
Density Altitude (feet) 1546
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13466
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 20 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1127
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 30 2003 9:51AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Indianapolis, IN FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5742F
NTSB Number CHI02LA265
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 28-25044
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 Dec 20 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 4643
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Gerald H. Schlensker
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5706 Fairlee Road
Aircraft Owner City Anderson
Aircraft Owner State IN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 46013
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 AID
Departure City Anderson
Departure State IN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 800
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 3I1
Destination City Elwood
Destination State IN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 29 2003 8:17AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 2243
Runway Width 300
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --