Cessna 337G N53548

Summary

On 14 April 2005 at about 11:20 local time, a Cessna 337G registered N53548 was involved in an accident near Oakland, Maryland, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 April 2005 at 11:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Oakland, Maryland, United States

Nearest airport

Garrett County Airport (2G4)

Coordinates

39.5775, -79.3392

Aircraft

Cessna 337G

Registration

N53548

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cumberland → Oakland

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD05LA055

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilot's delay in aborting the landing, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush into the trees. A factor in the accident was the tailwind.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While on a straight-in visual approach to an non-towered airport, the pilot reduced power and adjusted the flaps to "approach" for the descent; "but we just didn't seem to be dropping like we should." The pilot increased the flap setting and reduced the engine power further, but the approach still appeared "high." Over the runway threshold, the airplane was "a little high, and a little fast", and touched down about halfway down the runway. The pilot determined that the airplane would not stop on the remaining runway, and aborted the landing. The airplane continued off the end of the runway and collided with trees and terrain. The pilot failed to tune the radio to the correct frequency, was unable to obtain the current weather conditions at the airport, and touched down with a direct tailwind of about 8 knots. When asked about the handling characteristics and the performance of the airplane, he said, "It was performing perfectly," and further described the landing as a "bad decision."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.