Beechcraft 390 N16DK

Summary

On 13 February 2008 at about 01:55 local time, a Beechcraft 390 registered N16DK, operated by DEKA Research & Development Corp, was involved in an accident near Leesburg, Virginia, United States. 2 people were 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

13 February 2008 at 01:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Leesburg, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO)

Coordinates

39.0778, -77.5575

Aircraft

Beechcraft 390

Registration

N16DK

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

DEKA Research & Development Corp

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wichita → Leesburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

NYC08LA099

Nobody was injured.

The airplane's runway excursion during landing roll following an encounter with ice. Contributing to the accident was the ice-covered runway, and the airport personnel's lack of knowledge regarding the runway condition.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The business jet touched down near the threshold of the 5,500-foot-long, asphalt runway, at an airspeed of 100 knots. The pilot reported the braking effectiveness as "adequate" initially, and as the airplane approached the mid-field position of the runway, the braking effectiveness decreased until it was "near nil," and the airplane was no longer decelerating. The pilot maneuvered the airplane off the left side of the runway to gain traction from the adjacent grass area, during which it impacted a drainage ditch, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane. The area off the end of the runway was an open field with no obstructions. Examination of the runway revealed it was covered in black ice, with a thin layer of water. The weather reported at the time of the accident included 5 miles visibility with light snow. An employee of the fixed base operator (FBO) at the airport reported that at the time of the accident the main ramp and taxiways were coated with 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice from earlier precipitation. The airport manager reported that, about 1.5 hours prior to the accident, when he was leaving for the day, the forecast was for little or no precipitation and the temperature was expected to increase. However, the temperature decreased instead, resulting in the formation of ice on the runway. The airport manager reported at the time of the accident the north end of runway 17 was dry; however, the south end of runway 17 had "some ice on it." The normal procedure for the airport to treat ice on the runway was to issue a NOTAM to close the runway and deploy their ice melt product. Then, they would cancel the NOTAM and issue another one stating that ice is present on the runway. Because the temperature was forecast to rise and not fall, the airport did not use any ice melt product on the runway. Additionally the airport personnel did not have the equipment or training to issue braking action reports, nor was it required. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical deficiencies with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.