Accident Details
On February 1, 2016, about 1715 central standard time, a Piper PA-28-140 airplane, registration N1572J, collided with a moving vehicle while on short final approach to runway 26L at Sylvania Airport (C89), near Sturtevant, Wisconsin. The commercial pilot and his passenger were uninjured. The airplane sustained substantial fuselage damage when the landing gear separated during the collision and during the subsequent landing on runway 26R without landing gear.
The airplane was registered to Blue Moon Aviation LLC and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight was not operated on a flight plan. The local flight originated from John H Batten Airport (RAC), near Racine, Wisconsin, about 1615.
Pilot Actions
According to the pilot's accident report, he departed from RAC and performed four landings at C89. He departed from C89 about 1635 to view local sights and returned about 1710, where he performed two more landings on "runway 26." During the final approach on a third landing, the aircraft's landing gear clipped the top back of a tractor-trailer, resulting in the loss of all three landing gear. The pilot performed a go-around and landed on the grass runway, reporting that the belly landing was "smooth." He stated that the visual approach slope indicator was inoperative at the time.
Aircraft and Highway
The separated landing gear came to rest on Interstate Highway 94. The highway's shoulder was about 350 feet east of the runway's displaced threshold. No caution signs warning drivers of low flying airplanes were present on the highway. A vehicle in the northbound lanes impacted a separated landing gear. The impacted tractor-trailer was reported to have a red tractor and white trailer and did not stop following the collision.
N1572J, a 1967 Piper PA-28-140, serial number 28-23978, was a single-engine, low-wing, four-place airplane with fixed tricycle landing gear. Its last annual inspection was completed on June 2, 2015.
Weather and Airport Conditions
At 1653, recorded weather at Kenosha Municipal Airport included wind 290 degrees at 3 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear sky, temperature 3°C, dew point -2°C, and altimeter 30.05 inches of mercury. Sunset in the area was at 1704. The pilot reported dusk conditions at the time of the accident; published end of civil twilight was 1734.
C89 is a non-towered, privately owned airport open to the public, located about three miles west of Sturtevant, Wisconsin, with an estimated elevation of 788 feet. The airport has two runways: 8L/26R (2,343 ft by 120 ft turf) and 8R/26L (2,272 ft by 38 ft asphalt). Runway 26L was equipped with a two-light precision approach path indicator (PAPI) on its left side.
PAPI Status and Previous Accident
According to National Transportation Safety Board report CHI98LA061, a similar accident occurred on December 13, 1997, when a Piper PA-28-140 (N5454S) collided with a moving tractor-trailer on short final to runway 26L at the same airport; that pilot was fatally injured. Following that accident, the investigator suggested the state and airport provide usable glide path guidance for pilots landing on runway 26L. The Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics responded by initiating discussions and adding the airport to a list for runway marking; a PAPI was subsequently installed.
At the time of the 2016 accident, the PAPI on runway 26L was out of service. The airport manager indicated it was inoperative due to frost heaves in winter affecting the installation; the PAPI's tilt switch shuts it off when not level. A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for the PAPI being out of service was issued on February 2, 2016.
Follow-Up
The Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics was asked about rectifying the PAPI installation. The Chief of Aeronautical and Technical Services at WisDOT replied that previous initiatives did not result in state-sponsored PAPI work; the airport installed and maintains it independently. As a privately owned airport, C89 is not in the State Airport System Plan and is ineligible for state funding, but staff would provide guidance.
Representatives from the Wisconsin State Patrol and Racine County Sheriff's Office were asked if the accident tractor-trailer was located; as of the report's publication, it had not been found. A WisDOT representative reported plans to install caution signs on the highway warning drivers of low flying airplanes, scheduled for November or December 2016.