Pilot Debrief

Cessna 172 near Somerset, PA — 2018-09-30

Final reportERA18TA266
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Date
2018-09-30
Location
Somerset, PA, USA
Airport
2G9
Aircraft
Cessna 172
Registration
N4001F
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The pilot's decision to land with insufficient runway remaining to stop, which resulted in a runway overrun.

NTSB narrative

During the airplane's first flight after an annual inspection, the commercial pilot practiced touch-and-go landings and then flew the airplane for about 1.5 hours before returning to the airport. While on final approach to land, he reduced the engine power. The pilot stated that after the airplane touched down on the runway, it was traveling too fast to stop before the end of the runway but not fast enough to abort the landing. Subsequently, the airplane continued off the end of the runway, down an embankment, and came to rest inverted about 150 ft from the departure end of the runway. Postaccident examination of the brakes revealed no anomalies, and the pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot stated that he lands farther down the runway during full-stop landings because his hangar is at the far end of the runway. Thus, it is likely that the pilot landed the airplane too far down the runway and that it was traveling too fast to prevent a runway overrun.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted landing when realizing speed was too fast to stop.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 5 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents5

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