NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CHI04LA063
Registry · N38988
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER PA-28-161
Year of manufacture
1977 · 27 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19770803
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A4804A
Registrant of record
BMS AIRCRAFT LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The improper flare by the pilot due to his diverted attention during landing. Factors were the pilot's failure to execute a go-around, the overload of the right main landing gear, and the snowbank.
Factual narrative
On February 8, 2004, about 1330 central standard time, a Piper PA 28-161, N38988, operated by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage while landing at Lansing Municipal Airport (IGQ), Lansing, IL. The local flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot and 4 passengers sustained no injuries. The personal flight originated at 1320. The pilot stated he was landing on runway 18 (4,002 feet by 75 feet, ice covered asphalt) at IGQ when the right main landing gear broke through the wing. The pilot reported the final approach was looking good with no drifting. Cessna traffic was present at the airport doing full stop, taxi back landings when the accident occurred. The Cessna traffic was behind the hold short lines when the accident airplane was on short final. The pilot stated that he noticed the Cessna rolling past the hold short lines as he prepared to land. He reported glancing at his airspeed indicator which read "66 knots", after he saw the Cessna move past the lines. Shortly after he glanced at the indicator, he passed over the threshold and "hit the runway hard." The pilot realized there was a problem with the airplane and maintained directional control by using the rudder pedals until the airplane slowed. The airplane rolled into a snow bank following the right gear failure. The pilot reported no mechanical difficulties. He also reported that he should have executed a go-around when he saw the Cessna airplane cross the holding lines. The airplane was substantially damaged during a hard landing. The pilot stated that during the landing approach, he noticed another airplane at the holding lines of the runway. He stated that on final approach the other airplane moved. He reported that subsequent to the other airplane's movement, he looked back at the threshold, flared, and "hit the runway hard." After the hard landing, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane struck a snowbank. The pilot reported no mechanical difficulties, and stated that he should have executed a go-around when he saw the other airplane move. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2004_CHI04LA063.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (go-around). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2025 · Conference Paper
A Training Study to Improve Monitoring During A Go-Around
As part of an FAA program to improve go-around (GA) safety, we were asked to determine if we could improve the performance of the Pilot Monitoring (PM) during a GA maneuver.
- Flight Safety Foundation 2024 · FSF / AeroSafety World
Go-Around Safety Forum Findings
Foundation Go-Around Safety Forum technical findings — examines why pilots fail to execute go-arounds when criteria are met (stabilized approach gate not met, energy state out of envelope, traffic con…
- Semantic Scholar 2022 · Article (Journal of Safety Research)
Go-around accidents and general aviation safety.
INTRODUCTION Changes in General Aviation (GA) accident rates, specifically in the go-around phase, are examined by comparing the number of accidents, the proportion of fatal accidents, and the proport…
- Semantic Scholar 2021 · Article (Aerospace)
Classification and Analysis of Go-Arounds in Commercial Aviation Using ADS-B Data
Go-arounds are a necessary aspect of commercial aviation and are conducted after a landing attempt has been aborted. It is necessary to conduct go-arounds in the safest possible manner, as go-arounds …
- NASA NTRS 2021 · Accepted Manuscript (Version with final changes)
Go-Around Criteria Refinement for Transport Category Aircraft
Presently, airline pilots are trained to go around if, when lower than 500 ft above the ground, they are outside of a handful of parameters such as airspeed, position, and rate of descent.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Validation of Proposed Go-Around Criteria Under Various Environmental Conditions
This paper evaluates the effects of environmental conditions on touchdown performance under varying approach states and validates proposed go-around criteria developed using data from a previously con…
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