| Crash location | 41.425556°N, 88.418611°W |
| Nearest city | Morris, IL
41.364476°N, 88.407289°W 4.3 miles away |
| Tail number | N723PG |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 23 Dec 2005 |
| Aircraft type | Cessna 172R |
| Additional details: | None |
On December 23, 2005, about 0915 central standard time, a Cessna 172R, N723PG, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial right wing damage on impact with a snowdrift and terrain when the airplane departed the right side of runway 36 during landing at the Morris Municipal Airport-James R. Washburn Field (C09), near Morris, Illinois. The personal flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot reported a visual flight rules flight plan was on file and was not activated. The pilot and two passengers were uninjured. The flight originated from the Poplar Grove Airport, near Poplar Grove, Illinois, about 0830.
The pilot's accident report stated:
Going to Morris I tried to get the weather, but could not figure out
how to get the weather [frequency] in and went ahead and entered
the pattern for [runway] 36. I ran a normal pattern and ended up
[too] long and [too] fast and executed a go around. I went around
the pattern again and the conclusion ended up the same [too] high
and [too] fast but I decided to land this time and the wind blew me
off the right side of the [runway]. If I would not have gone off the
side of the [runway] I would have gone off the end.
The pilot's safety recommendation stated:
Know the airplanes radios, get weather, look for the wind sock, land
into the wind, do not force the airplane to land, be prepared to do a
go around no matter what, and look for other signs of wind direction.
The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane in reference to the flight.
At 0905, the recorded weather at C09 was: wind 220 degrees at 14 knots; visibility 5 statute miles; present weather haze; sky condition clear; temperature 3 degrees C; dew point 1 degree C; altimeter 29.71 inches of mercury.
The pilot's improper in-flight decision to land with a quartering tailwind and not maintaining directional control. Factors were the quartering tailwind and the snowdrift.