FTW94LA320

Factual narrative

On September 30, 1994, at 1700 central daylight time, a Piper PA-39, N8901Y, was substantially damaged during landing at Andrews County Airport, Andrews, Texas. The private pilot and passenger were uninjured. There was no flight plan filed for the business cross country flight and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot reported the following information. Prior to departure from Dexter, New Mexico, Roswell Flight Service Station was contacted and NOTAMs concerning Andrews County Airport requested. The only NOTAM reported was a 1,500 foot displacement of the threshold of runway 12. After flying to Andrews County, the pilot contacted Unicom and was informed that runways 15-33 and 2- 20 were closed and that winds were 10 knots at 200 degrees. He elected to land on runway 30 and calculated a usable runway length of 2,171 feet. On short final, the pilot noted that his groundspeed increased due to a wind shift from a crosswind to a quartering tailwind. The pilot stated that his "touchdown was long." After touching down, he "realized that the runway was shorter than had been reported." According to the pilot, the threshold of runway 12 had been displaced 1,800 feet, not 1,500 feet as he expected. The pilot was not able to stop the aircraft before it entered the closed section of the runway. This section of runway was closed due to construction activity, specifically, two 4 inch deep cuts had been made across the runway where it intersected another runway and a taxiway. The impact with the second cut caused the right main landing gear to separate from the airplane. San Angelo Flight Service Station reported the following NOTAMs on file for Andrews County Airport on the date of the accident: runway 2-20 closed, runway 15-33 closed, runway 12-30 southeast 1811 feet closed. The NOTAMS concerning runways 2-20 and 15-33 were published on 9/28/94. The airport manager reported the following runway status on the date of the accident: runway 2-20 closed, runway 15-33 closed, runway 12-30 southeast 1811 feet open. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT UPON DEPARTING DEXTER, THE ACCOMPANYING AIRPLANE CONTACTED ROSWELL FSS FOR DESTINATION NOTAMS, AND WAS ADVISED THAT THE ONLY NOTAM WAS THAT RWY 12 WAS DISPLACED BY 1,500 FT. UPON ARRIVAL, THE PILOT CONTACTED UNICOM AND WAS ADVISED THAT RUNWAYS 2-20 AND 15-33 WERE CLOSED. HE ELECTED TO LAND ON RWY 30, AND CALCULATED AN AVAILABLE LENGTH OF 2,171 FT. ON SHORT FINAL, GROUNDSPEED INCREASED DUE TO A WIND SHIFT TO A QUARTERING TAILWIND. AFTER LANDING LONG, THE PILOT REALIZED THAT THE RUNWAY WAS SHORTER THAN REPORTED. HE WAS UNABLE TO STOP THE AIRPLANE BEFORE ENTERING THE SECTION OF RUNWAY CLOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION. THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR SEPARATED WHEN THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE EDGE OF A 4-IN DEEP CUT. SAN ANGELO FSS REPORTED THE FOLLOWING NOTAMS WERE ON FILE FOR THE AIRPORT: 2-20 CLOSED, 15-33 CLOSED, SE 1811 FEET 12-30 CLOSED. THE NOTAMS CONCERNING 2-20 AND 15-33 WERE PUBLISHED ON 9/28/94. THE AIRPORT MANAGER REPORTED THE FOLLOWING RUNWAY STATUS: 2-20 CLOSED, 15-33 CLOSED, SE 1811 FEET 12-30 OPEN. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12