Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
San Marcos Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
San Marcos, Texas 78656
Tuesady, April 3, 2012 19:30 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot called the Flight Service Station (FSS) before departing on a cross-country flight to ask if there were any restrictions along his flight route that he needed to be aware of; none were mentioned. Upon arrival at his destination about dusk, the pilot listened to the Automated Terminal Information Service (ATIS); the control tower was closed at the time. The pilot then landed the airplane on runway 8, and during the landing roll, the airplane struck construction barriers on the runway, which resulted in the main landing gear shearing off and substantial damage to the left wing. The ATIS recording did not include information about runway 8 being closed.
A March 21, 2012, NOTAM was in effect and stated that runway 8/26 was closed due to construction; this information was not provided or requested during the FSS briefing. The Airman’s Information Manual states that an FSS is required to advise pilots of pertinent NOTAMs if a standard briefing is requested. It further states that pilot's should remind the briefer to advise of NOTAMs if the information is not received in the brief. It is ultimately the pilot’s responsibility to ensure that he is familiar with all relevant NOTAMs. Further, FAA Order JO7210.3X states, in part, that facilities with runway construction must ensure ATIS message content is complete, accurate, and contains the proper information related to runway closures.
The pilot stated postaccident that reflective ribbons and directional flashing lights, could have helped him see the barrier. He also stated that he flew into the same airport about a week after the accident and noted that the runway closure was included on the ATIS recording.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to ensure that he was aware of the NOTAM describing the runway closure, which resulted in a landing on the closed runway and subsequent collision with a barrier. Contributing to the accident was the failure of air traffic control personnel to include the runway closure information on the recorded ATIS information, which the pilot had listened to prior to landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/3/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1930 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | San Marcos |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 78656 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 295334N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0975147W |
| Event Location Airport | San Marcos Municipal Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | HYI |
| 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 | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1917 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | HYI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 597 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 340 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 4 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.73 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KHYI 032313Z 34004KT 10SM CLR 26/17 A2973 |
| 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) | 31652 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA - San Antonio FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 18 2013 9:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1162X |
| NTSB Number | CEN12LA229 |
| 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-34-200T |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 34-7570225 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 4 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 4 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2441 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | SOUTHWEST TEXAS RAIN ENHANCEMENT ASSOC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO BOX 1433 |
| Aircraft Owner City | CARRIZO SPRINGS |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 78834-7433 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | SOUTHWEST TEXAS RAIN ENHANCEMENT ASSOC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | PO BOX 1433 |
| Operator City | CARRIZO SPRINGS |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 78834-7433 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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) | Positioning |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | CZT |
| Departure City | Carrizo Springs |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1830 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | HYI |
| Destination City | San Marcos |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 18 2013 9:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | lema |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 08 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |