Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 525A near Storm Lake, IA — 2010-06-21

Final reportCEN10LA335
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Date
2010-06-21
Location
Storm Lake, IA, USA
Airport
SLB
Aircraft
CESSNA 525A
Registration
N800VT
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The pilot’s decision to land on a water contaminated runway, which resulted in a runway excursion during the landing roll. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of knowledge regarding the landing distance required and the limited braking effectiveness on a water contaminated runway.

NTSB narrative

The pilot canceled his instrument flight plan and proceeded under visual flight rules to his destination airport, avoiding the local thunderstorms that were in the area. The pilot reported that he landed just beyond the runway numbers and applied full braking. He reported that during the landing roll out, the wind shifted from a quartering headwind to a tailwind, and that he was unable to stop the airplane on the runway due to the wet runway condition and the wind. The airplane departed the runway, causing the nose gear and the left main landing gear to collapse about 325 feet from the departure end of runway. The pilot stated that there was standing water on the runway and with the brakes fully applied, the airplane responded as if it didn't have any. The inspection of the airplane’s tires, brake system, and anti-skid system revealed no pre-accident anomalies. The Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) provided the information required for determining the landing distance for dry runways, wet runways, and water contaminated runways. The AFM Landing Distance Tables indicted that the landing distance on a wet runway was about 4,050 – 4,350 feet; and the landing distance on a water contaminated runway (0.125 inch) was about 5,900 feet – 6,250 feet. The pilot thought that he needed less than 5,000 feet of runway to stop the airplane, indicating he was not familiar with the required contaminated runway landing distance.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Controlled flight into terrain
First missed decision gate
Pilot should have executed a go-around due to standing water and wind conditions.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • FDR / data
  • 9 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents9

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