N8397W

On March 29, 2019, at 1745 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28-180 airplane, N8397W, collided with an airport perimeter fence and a ditch after an aborted landing at Monroe County Airport, (M40), Aberdeen/Amory, Mississippi. The private pilot and passenger received minor injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by a private individual under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Marion County-Rankin Fite Airport (HAB), Hamilton, Alabama about 1715.

The passenger, who held a student pilot certificate with about 40 hours of flight time, stated that he had recently purchased the airplane and planned to take lessons from a flight instructor at M40 on April 1, 2019. He and the private pilot intended to reposition the airplane to M40 where it was to be refueled for the upcoming flight instruction. He stated the private pilot was acting as the pilot in command and was manipulating the flight controls. He added that the flight was uneventful until the landing at M40. During the landing flare, the airplane was slightly left of the runway centerline when it suddenly veered left. As the airplane continued off the left side of the runway, the private pilot applied full power and attempted to abort the landing. During the aborted landing the airplane collided with the north-south airport perimeter fence then continued into a ditch (figure 1).

Figure 1 – Accident airplane in a ditch

After the airplane impacted the ditch, the private pilot was unconscious for a few minutes until first responders arrived. The pilot was taken to a local hospital and treated for a concussion. He reported that he has no memory of the accident flight.

A review of the airport surveillance video revealed the wind was from the south about 10 knots.

The responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector completed a postaccident examination of the airplane on April 1, 2019. The flaps were found fully extended and the flight control cables were continuous. The nose landing gear was impact damaged; the corresponding rudder cable was off of the pulley and the cable's attachment point to the rudder pedal was broken. The examination did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The FAA inspector's photos revealed tire tracks in the grass where the airplane exited the runway. The tire tracks continued left across the taxiway and led to a knocked over fence post and metal fence laid on the ground toward the airplane. The airplane came to rest facing northwest toward the runway 18 threshold (figure 2).

Figure 2 – Airplane in a ditch facing toward the runway 18 threshold