Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Greensburg-Decatur County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Greensburg, Indiana 47240
Friday, December 13, 2002 18:45 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was substantially damaged when it departed the runway surface while attempting to takeoff. It came to rest in a plowed field adjacent to the airport. In his statement, the pilot reported: "As I started to lift off, suddenly the plane skid" and started to go toward the side of the runway. He went on to note that to avoid a collision, " I turned the plane to the west and tried to reduce speed, but the plane was out of control... ." The airport manager, who witnessed the accident aircraft attempting to takeoff, stated: "It was snowing fairly heavy, with a couple of inches of slush on the runway". He reported that it was almost a "white out" condition, and estimated visibility as approximately 1/4 mile. The pilot stated that there were no abnormalities with the controls, and no malfunctions with the aircraft. A post-accident examination also revealed no anomalies.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll. Contributing factors included inadequate planning/decision by the pilot for attempting to depart from the slush covered runway, the slush covered runway itself, and the falling snow.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/13/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1845 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Greensburg |
| Event State | INDIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 47240 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 391937N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0853121W |
| Event Location Airport | Greensburg-Decatur County |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | I34 |
| 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 | 912 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1850 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 255 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BAK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 656 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 18 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 1.5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 0 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 360 |
| 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) | 29.65 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Heavy |
| 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) | 13572 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 16 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1215 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 1 2003 9:44AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA -- Indianapolis FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N793MA |
| NTSB Number | CHI03LA038 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA28-181 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 2843193 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2000 |
| 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 | Sep 1 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 48 |
| Airframe Hours | 800 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | RAJ Airlines Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 909 Lakeview Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | Logansport |
| Aircraft Owner State | IN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 46947 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | Umamaheswara R. Kalapatapu |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | I34 |
| Departure City | Greensburg |
| Departure State | IN |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1835 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | GGP |
| Destination City | Logansport |
| Destination State | IN |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - roll/run |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 11 2003 6:45PM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | 3433 |
| Runway Width | 40 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |