Event CHI03LA085

Factual narrative

On March 18, 2003, at 2010 central standard time, a Piper PA-34-200T, N930DE, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing on runway 2R (5,100 feet by 100 feet, concrete) at DuPage Airport (DPA), West Chicago, Illinois. The Title 14 CFR Part 91 repositioning flight departed Midway Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois, at 1950 en route to DPA. The pilot and one passenger were not injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan was filed. The pilot reported he landed at Midway to check the weather. He reported, "I flew on to Dupage on VFR, and was told to land on 2R. Because it was windy I flew at 100 kt on final, and on touchdown I felt that the nose was too low. I pulled back on the elevator and the nose came up, and then I lowered the nose again and again it was too low. I stopped the engines with the mixture and the plane stopped, nose down." Inspection of the airplane revealed that the nose gear was collapsed. The nose gear support tube was pushed vertically up through the top of the airframe about 6 inches. The center windshield airframe post was pushed up, and the left and right windshields were separated from the cockpit's windshield frame. All three blade tips on both propellers were bent aft and exhibited chordwise gouging and scraping. The airplane sustained substantial damage during a hard landing at night. The pilot reported, "Because it was windy I flew at 100 kt on final, and on touchdown I felt that the nose was too low. I pulled back on the elevator and the nose came up, and then I lowered the nose again and again it was too low. I stopped the engines with the mixture and the plane stopped, nose down." Inspection of the airplane revealed that the nose gear was collapsed. The nose gear support tube was pushed vertically up through the top of the airframe about 6 inches. The center windshield airframe post was pushed up, and the left and right windshields were separated from the cockpit's windshield frame. All three blade tips on both propellers were bent aft and exhibited chordwise gouging and scraping. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12