N7586F

On October 21, 2000, at 1705 central daylight time, a Champion 7ECA, N7586F, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when it veered off of a closed grass runway (about 3,400 feet by 40 feet) that is parallel to runway 12 at the Carter Airport, Pulaski, Wisconsin, and nosed over. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. The local flight originated at 1605 cdt.

In a written statement, the pilot said that on final approach he noticed a skydiver. He said, "In my judgment it was clear to land on the sod runway as the skydiver was on target over his designated landing spot, well to the left of runway 12. I touched the aircraft down and at that time the skydiver must have turned downwind as he ended up landing in the middle of the runway. I applied my right rudder to avoid a collision with the skydiver. This action resulted in my crossing the paved runway and entering the field. At this point I hit some brush and flipped the aircraft."

An employee of the fixed base operator at the Carter Airport stated, in a telephone conversation, that the grass runway parallel to runway 12 was closed at the time of the accident. He said that the runway has been closed since the implementation of an instrument approach to the airport. He also said that the grass runway is approximately 3,400 feet by 40 feet in dimension.

No anomalies were found with respect to the aircraft that could be associated with a preexisting condition and the pilot reported none.