NTSB Factual Report

On July 13, 2001, approximately 1015 Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-28-181 airplane, N4920F, registered to and being flown by a private pilot who was undergoing a 14 CFR 61.56 flight review, was substantially damaged in an inflight crop strike on short final approach and subsequent inflight collision with an embankment short of runway 22 at Willard Field, Tekoa, Washington. The pilot and flight instructor were not injured in the accident. Visual meteorological conditions, with calm winds, were reported by the pilot and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR 91instructional flight.

The pilot undergoing the flight review reported that he was practicing a short field landing at the time. He stated that at the airport, there is a low hill on the northeast end of runway 22, which he reported is about 10 feet high and had "a heavy growth of wheat four [feet] tall" at the time of the accident. He stated that the wheat at that time "was a solid dark green which gave no depth perception", which he stated "in essence created an invisible fifteen [foot] wall." He reported that the top of the hill was approximately 100 feet from the end of the runway. The pilot reported that "On short final my wheels touched the wheat which caused a rapid deceleration and loss of altitude." The pilot stated the airplane subsequently struck a 16-inch-high bank along a dirt road approximately 30 feet from the end of the runway. He stated that "as we crossed over this bank all three wheels caught on this bank [and] sheared off." The pilot stated that the airplane flew on for another 70 feet, struck its propeller, and slid down the runway for another 300 feet. According to a copy of the pilot's logbook furnished by the pilot, his last documented flight review prior to the accident was June 15, 1996, with a total of 4.2 flight hours and three flights logged between the last flight review and the accident flight.

In a statement to an FAA inspector, the flight instructor reported that on final, "it appeared [the pilot] was aiming for the end of the runway for his landing point." He stated that on short final, he noticed that there was a rise in the terrain, but that by the time he got his hands on the controls "we were already in the grain and it was sucking us down." The instructor stated that the aircraft subsequently touched down at the edge of the grain field and then bounced across a road. The instructor stated that the aircraft's landing gear broke off when the aircraft contacted an 18-inch rise (the dirt bank) on the far side of the road. He stated that the aircraft then bounced again, came down on the runway, and slid for about 237 feet down the runway. The instructor stated that the grain was 37 inches high on top of the rise in the farmer's field.

According to the U.S. Government Airport/Facility Directory, Willard Field's single runway, 04-22, is 2,261 feet long, 25 feet wide, and asphalt-surfaced. The airport elevation is 2,513 feet above sea level. The A/FD airport remarks state that runway 04-22 has a yellow centerline marking only, and that the markings are very faded. The A/FD lists runway 22 obstructions as a powerline. According to the commercial Internet airport information site www.airnav.com, which cites the FAA as its data source, runway 22 has a 2-foot-high county road 40 feet from the end of the runway, and a 4-foot-high dirt bank 80 feet from the threshold. The runway is not equipped with any type of visual glide path indicator such as a visual approach slope indicator (VASI) system, and the runway 22 threshold is not displaced.

NTSB Probable Cause

The non-current pilot's failure to maintain sufficient altitude or clearance with wheat crops on short final, and the flight instructor's inadequate remedial action. Factors included wheat crops and a dirt bank on short final, the runway's lack of a visual approach slope indicator installation, and a visual illusion (wheat crop matched background color) that impaired both pilots' ability to visually detect the wheat crops.