Primary finding
Probable cause
the pilot's misjudgment of the aircraft's speed and runway distance available. Factors were an off-field ditch and a tailwind condition.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot stated that on his fourth landing, during a series of night touch and go's, he 'flared the plane and it 'floated' for a long time.' With the end of the runway approaching the airplane departed the runway onto a taxiway. The pilot wrote 'I tried to turn into the taxiway at the runway's end, but was going too fast to make the turn.' The aircraft exited the taxiway, coming to rest in a 'nose down' attitude in a small canal off the end of the runway and taxiway. After exiting the airplane the pilot reported 'I noticed a strong wind directly from the east and observed the wind sock standing out with a bend of approximately 45 degrees.'
Source record
Factual narrative
On May 12, 1997, at 2100 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28-181, N8309L, operated by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage during an overrun on landing. The airplane was landing on runway 27 (3,270' x 40' dry asphalt) at Campbell Airport, near Grayslake, Illinois. The pilot reported no injuries. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was on file for the local flight, that departed at 2010. In a written statement by the pilot, he stated that on his fourth landing, during a series of night touch and go's, he "flared the plane and it 'floated' for a long time." With the end of the runway approaching the airplane departed the runway onto a taxiway. The pilot wrote, "I tried to turn into the taxiway at the runway's end, but was going too fast to make the turn." The aircraft exited the taxiway, coming to rest in a "nose down" attitude in a small canal off the end of the runway and taxiway. After exiting the airplane the pilot reported, "I noticed a strong wind directly from the east and observed the wind sock standing out with a bend of approximately 45 degrees." -