Pilot Debrief

Rotherwick Glasair III near Colville, WA — 2010-10-21

Final reportWPR11CA022
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Date
2010-10-21
Location
Colville, WA, USA
Airport
635
Aircraft
Rotherwick Glasair III
Registration
N471B
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The pilot's misjudged approach and failure to attain the proper touchdown point, which resulted in a runway overrun.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was landing the airplane in calm wind conditions. The airplane touched down midway down the runway at stall speed. Upon touchdown, the pilot retracted the flaps and applied brake pressure, including full aft elevator, in an attempt to bring the airplane to a stop. With the end of the runway approaching, the pilot applied left brake in an effort to turn the airplane to the left and the airplane nosed over off the end of the runway. The pilot stated that he checked the brakes prior to flight, but felt that they did not function normally during the landing. A witness reported that when the airplane was landing, it floated in ground effect until about 100 feet beyond midfield. The landing gear contacted the runway and the airplane continued to decelerate until disappearing over the end of the runway. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that responded to the accident, skid marks led from the runway to the location where the airplane came to rest. The FAA inspector examined the braking system following the accident and found no mechanical anomalies. At the time of this writing, the pilot had not submitted NTSB Form 6120.1, the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have chosen to abort landing earlier to avoid runway overrun.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents6

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