N991TD

On January 16, 1997, at 1428 central standard time, a Lear 24, N991TD, piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged when it departed the left side of runway 23 (5,500' X 100' asphalt with patchy snow-pack and ice) at the Muscatine Municipal Airport, Muscatine, Iowa. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 positioning flight had been operating on an IFR flight plan. The pilot and co-pilot reported no injuries. The flight departed Ft. Wayne, Indiana, 1500 est.

The pilot-in-command's written statement said the airplane "...began moving to the left side of the runway..." immediately upon touch down. He said he applied power to abort the landing "...but contacted [a snow] drift of the left side of the runway... ." He said the airplane departed the runway and went out of control. The co-pilot's written statment reflects the pilot's statement.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Principal Operations Inspector (POI) represented the NTSB on-scene. He said the airplane began to drift to the left when it touched down. According to the POI, the pilot said he had attempted a go-around but the left main gear tires began to roll through snow near the runway's edge. The POI said the pilot stated the snow dragged the airplane further left. The POI said the airplane departed the runway edge about 800 feet from runway 23's approach threshold. The airplane slid sideways about 300 yards before coming to a stop.

The on-scene investigation revealed N991TD's nose gear had collapsed aft and penetrated the fuselage skin. Fuselage stringers and bulkheads at the penetration area were bent and the surrounding skin wrinkled. The right wing tip tank was ruptured, and wing spar number 7 had a sheared web at the landing gear support pillar. Fuel was observed leaking from the bottom wing skin between the main landing gear assemblies.