Cessna 206E N9428G

Summary

On 8 July 2005 at about 18:30 local time, a Cessna 206E registered N9428G, operated by Aeronautical Services, was involved in an accident near Stuart Island, Washington, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2005 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Stuart Island, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Stuart Island (7WA5)

Coordinates

48.6744, -123.1733

Aircraft

Cessna 206E

Registration

N9428G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Aeronautical Services

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Orcas Island → Stuart Island

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA05LA141

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's excessive airspeed on final for the current runway surface conditions, and the intentional obstruction avoidance maneuver he executed when it became clear the aircraft was about to go off the end of the runway. Factors include the pilot's improper decision to land on a surface that he had not first inspected from the air, clouds and rain in the area, and a wet, muddy landing surface.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Due to the restrictions created by marginal VFR conditions, the pilot entered the pattern on a close-in dogleg to final for a landing to the west. Just as he was starting to turn final, he heard another pilot broadcast that he was departing Stuart Island to the east. The pilot then transmitted, "Aircraft close in, landing to the west, Stuart". He then prepared to execute a go-around. But, as he rounded the corner of the island and rolled out on final, the pilot saw an aircraft pull off of the runway to the grassy area to its south. He therefore decided to continue his approach to a full-stop landing. Upon touchdown on the 2,000 foot runway, the aircraft encountered a significant amount of standing water, and the pilot immediately retracted the flaps in order to get more weight on the wheels for braking. Because of the amount of standing water, the aircraft began to hydroplane, and as it neared the end of the runway, it still had not come to a stop. In an attempt to keep the aircraft from going off the far end of the runway, the pilot intentionally executed a sharp turn to the right. Just after the turn was initiated, the left main gear and the nose gear dug into the soft muddy surface, resulting in the aircraft tipping up on its left side and the left wing contacting the runway surface. During the investigation it was determined that a heavy rain shower had passed through the area about 15 minutes prior to the landing, and that there was still a significant portion of the runway surface that had standing water on it. During a post-accident interview, the pilot started that he did not realize that there was so much standing water on the runway until after he touched down and it started spraying up on the bottom of the wing and onto the windshield. He further stated that if he had realized that the potential for hydroplaning was so great, he would have slowed his approach speed to compensate for the overly-wet conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.