Easter William C M-1 N150MM

Summary

On 16 July 2022 at about 12:10 local time, a Easter William C M-1 registered N150MM was involved in an accident near Okeechobee, Florida, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 July 2022 at 12:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Okeechobee, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Okeechobee Couty AIrport (OBE)

Coordinates

27.2666, -80.8504

Aircraft

Easter William C M-1

Registration

N150MM

Category

Airplane

Year built

1984

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA433

Nobody was injured.

The premature placement of an airport runway closure marker short of the runway, which resulted in the airplane’s collision with the marker during the landing approach. Contributing was the pilot’s inability to see the marker due the nose-high attitude of the airplane during the approach.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot landed on a runway that was scheduled to be closed about 9 minutes after he arrived. A NOTAM had been issued about the closure. The pilot was aware of the NOTAM and confirmed the runway was still open by communicating over the airport’s common traffic advisory frequency before he landed. The pilot said that when he was on short final approach to the runway, the airplane struck the top cross-arms of an unlit airport runway closure marker. The pilot was subsequently able to land safely. The pilot said he was unable to see the marker as he approached the runway due to the nose-high flight attitude of his airplane on approach. The impact with the marker resulted in substantial damage to the airplane’s wing spar. A representative of the engineering company contracted by the airport acknowledged to the Federal Aviation Administration that their employees had moved the marker in front of the runway’s threshold prior to it being closed because they thought they had permission to do so by the airport; however, the person or entity who had granted that permission was never determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.