Private Airstrip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Eureka Springs, Arkansas 72631
Wednesday, January 12, 2005 16:55 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was destroyed, and the pilot fatally injured, when it impacted trees and subsequently burned after an overrun during landing. A witness reported that the airplane came into the private airstrip very fast and that the weather at the time consisted of a low ceiling, rain, and misting rain. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no pre-impact anomalies. Evidence of heavy braking and sliding of the tires on the wet, turf runway was observed leading to the main wreckage. Tire marks indicated that the airplane touched down with 1,523 feet of runway remaining. The total runway length was 1,981 feet. The dry runway landing distance over a 50 foot obstacle with no wind was determined to be about 1,400 feet for an aircraft weight of 4,000 pounds.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot misjudged his distance/speed which resulted in the overrun and subsequent impact with trees. The wet turf runway and the trees were factors in the accident.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/12/2005
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1655
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Eureka Springs
Event State ARKANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 72631
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 362749N
Event Location Longitude 0934931W
Event Location Airport Private Airstrip
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1000
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1635 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 249
Weather Observation Facility ID KROG
Elevation of weather observation facility 1358
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 100
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 18
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.55
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19722
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jan 12 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2000
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 30 2006 1:54PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Little Rock, AR - FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N500KW
NTSB Number CHI05FA053
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-23-250
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 277405264
Certified Max Gross Weight 5200
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HRO Leasing Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO Box 913
Aircraft Owner City Harrison
Aircraft Owner State AR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 72602
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) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code HRO
Departure City HARRISON
Departure State AR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code PVT
Destination City Eureka Springs
Destination State AR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 24 2006 7:44AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 1981
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --