Event CHI00LA146

Factual narrative

On May 29, 2000, at 1700 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N5200K, nosed over after contacting a ditch following an overrun landing on runway 27 (2,650' x 50') at the Plainwell Municipal Airport, Plainwell, Michigan. The private pilot was not injured. The airplane was destroyed by a post impact fire. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight originated from Charlotte, Michigan, at 1630 edt. The pilot reported, "I descended to the runway and touched down gently, but the aircraft 'skipped' repeatedly." The airplane continued off the end of the runway where it traveled through a fence and nosed over in a ditch. The pilot stated he saw flames after the airplane nosed over. He was able to release his seatbelt and crawl out of the wreckage. The accident site and wreckage were examined by an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration Grand Rapids, Michigan, Flight Standards District Office. The inspector reported the airplane touched down in the last 1/3 of the runway length. The airplane then traveled through approximately 50' of grass prior to contacting the ditch. The inspector reported that the airplane was destroyed by a post impact fire. The pilot reported, 'I descended to the runway and touched down gently, but the aircraft 'skipped' repeatedly.' The airplane continued off the end of the runway where it traveled through a fence and nosed over in a ditch. The pilot stated he saw flames after the airplane nosed over. He was able to release his seatbelt and crawl out of the wreckage. Inspection of the airport and wreckage indicated the airplane touched down in the last 1/3 of the runway length. The airplane then traveled through approximately 50' of grass prior to contacting the ditch where it nosed over and was destroyed by fire. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12