Elkhart, IN, USA
N58797
Cessna 182P
The airplane contacted the passenger side of a pickup truck while on short final approach. Neither the pilot nor the driver of the truck saw each other prior to the accident. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane "too low" on final approach just prior to the collision. The witnesses reported that the nose gear of the airplane contacted the side of the truck. The airplane then contacted the ground and nosed over. The end of the runway is approximately 50 feet from the south edge of the road. The runway had a 200 foot displaced threshold.
On December 21, 2001, at 1815 eastern standard time, a Cessna 182P, N58797, collided with a pickup truck while on short final approach to land on runway 21 (2,243 feet by 40 feet, asphalt) at the Mishawaka Pilots Club Airport, Elkhart, Indiana. The private pilot received serious injuries and the driver of the pickup truck received minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions with no flight plan. The flight originated from Ann Arbor, Michigan, at 1715 eastern standard time. The pilot reported, "Turned Final 1200 MSL. Established final glide path. Reported to have hit roof of pickup truck on road below glide path." The driver of the pickup truck reported, "I was driving west on CR 20 when all of the sudden I heard and felt a big crash. I did not know what had happen. I heard the noise and felt it, then the next thing I know I came to a stop by some mailboxes. I made it out of the truck and finally got a man to stop. He is the one who told me a plane had hit me." Two witnesses reported seeing the accident. Both reported the airplane was approaching the airport "too low." They reported that the nose gear of the airplane contacted the passenger side of the pickup truck. They reported the airplane then contacted the ground between the road and the end of the runway. They said it contacted the ground nose first then it nosed over. The end of the runway is approximately 50 feet from the south edge of the road. The runway had a 200 foot displaced threshold.
The pilot allowed the airplane's altitude to get too low while on final approach. A factor associated with the accident was the pickup truck which the airplane struck.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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