Piper PA-31 Navajo accident at Nordhorn-Lingen

Incident Overview and Aircraft Details On 7 January 2010, a Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft was involved in an accident at Nordhorn-Lingen. The aircraft was heavily damaged, but there were no injuries to the pilot or third parties. The incident was investigated by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) and summarized in report 3X001-10. ## Flight Sequence and Approach Following a 100-hour inspection at Stadtlohn-Vreden, the pilot departed for Nordhorn-Lingen at approximately 14:38 local time. The 26-minute flight was conducted at an altitude between 1,500 and 2,000 feet MSL without incident. About 20 nautical miles from the destination, the pilot contacted Nordhorn Info and was informed that runway 24 was snow-covered and uncleared. The air traffic controller activated the night lighting to improve visibility in the white, featureless environment. ## Landing and Damage Approaching from the northeast, the pilot flew the left-hand traffic pattern. The pilot stated that they did not perceive the runway lighting on the airfield grounds and turned for the final approach to runway 24 based on known geographical features. During the landing phase, the pilot realized the presence of some illuminated lights to the right. The aircraft landed on the snow-covered grass strip to the left of the asphalt runway. The nose gear bent, and the aircraft came to a stop after a 60-meter skid with a slight turn to the right. ## Pilot and Meteorological Conditions The 31-year-old pilot held a private pilot license issued under JAR-FCL regulations, valid until 16 September 2012, with a requirement to wear glasses. The pilot had 263 total flight hours, including approximately 80 hours on the PA-31 Navajo. At the time of the accident, ground visibility was approximately 3 km in light haze, with a solid cloud cover at 1,500 feet above ground, no wind, and a temperature of about 0 °C. ## Airfield and Investigation Findings Nordhorn-Lingen is an uncontrolled airfield located one nautical mile east of Klausheide at an elevation of 85 feet. The 900-meter asphalt runway 06/24 had 680 meters of landing distance available in both directions due to displaced thresholds. The snow-covered runway was visually indistinguishable from its surroundings, and the bases and structures of the individual light fixtures at the runway edge were not visible, though the lighting itself was discernible. The nose gear of the aircraft was bent backward, and the structure of the forward fuselage was distorted.