Cessna 500 N1DK

Summary

On 6 January 1998 at about 20:48 local time, a Cessna 500 registered N1DK, operated by Donald K. Ulrich, was involved in an accident near West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, United States. 3 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 January 1998 at 20:48

Classification

Accident

Location

West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Allegheny County (AGC)

Coordinates

40.3598, -79.8999

Aircraft

Cessna 500

Registration

N1DK

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Donald K. Ulrich

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Akron → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC98FA060

1 person was seriously injured.

The failure of the pilot to make a go-around when he failed to achieve a normal touchdown due to excessive speed, and which resulted in an overrun. Factors were the reduced visibility due to fog, and the wet runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot initiated an ILS approach with rain and fog. Approach flaps were maintained until the runway was sighted, and then landing flaps were set. The airplane landed long, overran the runway, struck the ILS localizer antenna on the departure end of the runway, and came to rest at the edge of a mobile home park. The airplane and two mobile homes were destroyed by fire. Vref had been computed at 110 Kts. The PIC reported a speed on final of 130 Kts, while the SIC said it was 140 Kts. Radar data revealed a 160 knots ground speed from the outer marker until 1.8 miles from touchdown. The airplane passed the control tower, airborne, with 2,500 feet of runway remaining on the 6,500 foot long runway. Performance data revealed that the airplane would require about 2,509 feet on a dry runway, and 5,520 feet on a wet runway. The airplane was not equipped with thrust reversers or anti-skid brakes. The PIC was the company president, and the SIC was a recent hire who had flown with the PIC three previous times. The PIC was qualified for single-pilot operations in the airplane, and had been trained to fly stabilized approaches.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.