Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a final report on the Jan. 19, 2000, accident at Warsaw Municipal Airport.
The accident's probable cause was found to be due to pilot misjudgment of unsafe or hazardous conditions.
Factors contributing to the accident were the precautionary landing being performed by pilot Timothy William Myers, 44, of Three Rivers, Mich.
The dark night and snowy weather conditions were also given as factors of the mishap, which occurred at 11:07 p.m.
The small plane, owned by Planemasters Ltd. of West Chicago, Ill., sustained substantial damage when it overran runway 27 and careened into a chain-link fence, struck an embankment and ended up on the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks 2,000 feet from the end of the runway.
According to the pilot's written statement, Myers taxied the airplane to the approach-end of runway 27 and announced on the UNICOM frequency his intentions of taking off on runway 27, which is 6,000 feet long and 150 feet wide.
The commercial-rated pilot reported no injuries. The flight was originating at the time of the accident and had the intended destination of Clark County Airport, Jeffersonville.
David Beall, airport manager, said Myers was on the east-west runway and one of three snow plows in operation at the time was on the north-south taxiway when the accident occurred. Beall was driving the snow plow on the taxiway to clear it of fallen snow.
After the accident, the airplane was facing west with the nose gear broken and folded under the plane and the rear wheels on the east side of the railroad tracks.
The airplane sustained an estimated $50,000 to $100,000 in damage to the front landing gear, the fuselage and the propeller.
The entire report is available on the Net: www.NTSB.gov
