Private Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Marengo, Illinois 60152
Friday, April 25, 2003 12:10 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane sustained substantial damage when it landed hard at a private grass airstrip. The pilot reported he encountered strong downdrafts and windshear while landing. The pilot stated he attempted to recover from the descent, but was unsuccessful. The airplane impacted the runway and the main landing gear penetrated into the sod runway. The landing gear then separated from the airplane and the airplane nosed over. A weather station 21 miles to the west of the accident site reported winds from 030 degrees at 17 knots, gusting to 22 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper flare. A factor contributing to the accident was the gusty crosswind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/25/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1210
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Marengo
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 60152
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 422607N
Event Location Longitude 0885903W
Event Location Airport Private
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PVT
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 850
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1154 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID RFD
Elevation of weather observation facility 742
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 21
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Obscured
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 30
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 17
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.81
Density Altitude (feet) 1295
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14185
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Apr 25 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1300
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 25 2003 11:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office DuPage FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N35291
NTSB Number CHI03LA114
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 182T
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18280970
Certified Max Gross Weight 2950
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class Foreign Reg./Foreign 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 7 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 32
Airframe Hours 122
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jack W. Emerick
Aircraft Owner Street Address 10006 Maple Street
Aircraft Owner City Marengo
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 60152
Operator is an individual? Yes
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) Other Work Use
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code BUU
Departure City Burlington
Departure State WI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1130
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PVT
Destination City Marengo
Destination State IL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 25 2003 10:57AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 09
Runway Length 2400
Runway Width 70
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --