Crash location | 47.386666°N, 92.838889°W |
Nearest city | Hibbing, MN
47.427155°N, 92.937689°W 5.4 miles away |
Tail number | N88FN |
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Accident date | 02 Jul 2009 |
Aircraft type | Piper PA-28-140 |
Additional details: | None |
The airplane impacted a construction barricade while taking off from a closed taxiway. The taxiway was being prepared to be used as a temporary runway during future scheduled maintenance on the airport's main runway. At the time of the accident, the taxiway was closed while it was being painted with the temporary runway markings. However, the main runway was still in use for normal operations. There was an applicable Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) specifying that the taxiway was closed. The pilot stated that he mistakenly identified the taxiway as the active runway when he saw the temporary runway markings. The right main wing spar was substantially damaged when the main landing gear collapsed after striking the construction barricade.
The pilot mistakenly using a closed taxiway for takeoff, which resulted in the airplane striking a construction barricade.