Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de EMB-500 N224MD

Summary

On 25 May 2011 at about 22:50 local time, a Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de EMB-500 registered N224MD, operated by Superior Air Charter LLC, was involved in an accident near Sedona, Arizona, United States. 5 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 May 2011 at 22:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Sedona, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Sedona Airport (SEZ)

Coordinates

34.8483, -111.7883

Aircraft

Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de EMB-500

Registration

N224MD

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Superior Air Charter LLC

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Jose → Sedona

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11FA236

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilots’ unstabilized approach and excessive airspeed during approach, which resulted in an insufficient landing distance to stop the airplane before overrunning the runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Following an uneventful flight, the flight crew briefed the arrival to the destination airport and set the calculated landing speeds. The captain and the first officer reported that during final approach, it felt like the airplane was “pushed up” as the wind shifted to a tailwind or updraft before landing near the runway number markings. Upon touchdown, the captain applied the brakes and thought that the initial braking was effective; however, he noticed the airplane was not slowing down. The captain applied maximum braking, and the airplane began to veer to the right; he was able to correct back to the runway centerline, but the airplane subsequently exited the departure end of the runway and traveled down a steep embankment. A pilot-rated passenger reported that throughout the approach to landing, he thought the airplane was high and thought that the excessive altitude continued through and into the base-to-final turn. He added that the bank angle of this turn seemed greater than 45 degrees. Recorded communication from the cockpit voice and data recorder (CVDR) revealed that during the approach to landing, the flight crew performed the landing checks, and the captain noted difficulty judging the approach. About 1 minute later, the recording revealed that the ground warning proximity system reported “five hundred” followed by a “sink rate, pull up” alert about 16 seconds later. Data from the CVDR revealed that about 23 seconds before weight-on-wheels was recorded, the airplane was at an indicated airspeed of about 124 knots and descending. The data showed that this approximate airspeed was maintained until about 3 seconds before weight-on-wheels. The recorded data further showed that the approach speed was set to 120 knots, and the landing reference speed (vREF) was set to 97 knots. Using the reported airplane configuration and the 3.5-knot headwind that was reported at the time of the approach and landing, calculations indicate that the vREF speed should have been about 101 knots indicated airspeed, which would have required a landing distance of about 3,112 feet. Utilizing the same airplane configuration and wind condition with the flight’s reported 124 knot indicated airspeed just before touchdown, the landing distance was calculated to be about 5,624 feet. The intended runway for landing was 5,132-feet long with a 1.9 percent downward slope gradient, and a 123-foot long overrun area. A postaccident examination of the airplane, including the braking system, revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot misjudged the airplane’s speed during the final approach, which resulted in runway overrun.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.