Cessna T337 N21NC

Summary

On 14 July 2009 at about 17:20 local time, a Cessna T337 registered N21NC, operated by James H Boschma, was involved in an accident near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 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

14 July 2009 at 17:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Rock Airport (9GI)

Coordinates

40.6033, -79.8261

Aircraft

Cessna T337

Registration

N21NC

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

James H Boschma

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brownsboro → Pittsburgh

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09CA402

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to obtain the proper touchdown point during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While on the downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern for runway 17, the pilot was advised over the airport traffic frequency that winds were favoring runway 35. The pilot elected to continue the approach to runway 17, since he could "clearly see the wind sock," which was indicating a "direct crosswind." During the landing flare, the pilot encountered an "updraft" and landed approximately "half way" down the 3,500-foot- long runway. Upon touchdown, he retracted the wing flaps, applied "very strong" pressure on the brakes, and made "shallow turns" in an attempt to stop the airplane. The airplane ran off the end of the runway, and came to rest in a ditch approximately 10 to 20 feet beyond the runway edge. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who examined the airplane after the accident reported that it sustained substantial damage to the engine firewall, and exhibited extensive wrinkling and buckling of the fuselage, particularly at the wing roots. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies. The nearest weather reporting station, located 12 nautical miles northwest of the accident site, reported wind direction variable between 280 degrees and 350 degrees at 7 knots at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that he should have landed on runway 35, since there were "several hills" on the approach to runway 17, and "turbulence and updrafts made speed control and altitude control difficult." In addition, runway 17 had a "downhill slope."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.