Pilot Debrief

Cessna 208 near Pepperell, MA — 2019-09-20

Final reportERA19TA278
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Date
2019-09-20
Location
Pepperell, MA, USA
Airport
26MA
Aircraft
Cessna 208
Registration
N895SF
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot's loss of control when the airplane encountered a downdraft during landing approach, which resulted in a subsequent hard landing and gear collapse.

NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot, 10 skydivers, and 1 passenger departed on a skydiving flight. After the skydivers jumped, the pilot and passenger returned to the airport to land. The pilot stated that, during the landing, he encountered a sudden downdraft and the airplane dropped out of the air from about 10 to 15 ft above the runway. The airplane landed hard and the nose landing gear collapsed; the airplane slid to the right side of the runway, crossed the parallel runway, and impacted a tree. Examination of the airplane revealed that the left wing was bent up about 3 ft from the wing tip and the nose landing gear was fracture-separated. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Thus, it is likely that the pilot failed to maintain airplane control during the landing, which resulted in a hard landing.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have executed a go-around instead of continuing the approach.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents5

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