Piper PA-32-300 accident near Worthington, Minnesota, January 5, 2006
On January 5, 2006 at about 1:30 am local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N190PH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Worthington, Minnesota (Worthington Municipal airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The missed approach not performed by the pilot and the directional control not maintained by the pilot during landing. Contributing factors were the crosswind, wind information not available due to inoperative meteorological equipment, and a Notices to Airman not issued by airport personnel indicating that the meteorological equipment was inoperative.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 5, 2006 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- Worthington, Minnesota · Worthington Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N190PH · registry record · serial 32-7740064
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane veered off the runway after touchdown following a precision instrument approach and landing on runway 29. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that the airport's automated weather observing system (AWOS) reported calm winds, but he felt that this was inaccurate so he checked reports from surrounding AWOSs, which reported winds from the northwest at 8-11 knots. The pilot stated that upon touchdown, the airplane moved "quickly" to the left and departed off the side of the runway and into snow, which folded the nose wheel landing gear. The maximum demonstrated cross wind for the airplane is 17 knots. Inspection of the airport's AWOS following the accident revealed that the AWOS was covered with ice, which inhibited operation of the wind speed and direction sensors. The Federal Aviation Administration had no record of a Notices to Airman being issued on the day of the accident pertaining to the airport AWOS.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 201 hours in all; 107 in this make and model; 52 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 149 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: December 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,461.2 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 1, 2005; 51.6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Textron Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TQK Scott City KS at 10:15 pm
- Destination: OTG Worthington MN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 29, 5,506 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: at 0 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 800 ft; clear
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI06LA061.