Cessna 551 N48DK

Summary

On 2 December 2020 at about 14:42 local time, a Cessna 551 registered N48DK, operated by Aviation Star S, was involved in an accident near Lufkin, Texas, United States. 3 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

2 December 2020 at 14:42

Classification

Accident

Location

Lufkin, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Angelina County Airport (LFK)

Coordinates

31.1400, -94.4500

Aircraft

Cessna 551

Registration

N48DK

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

2

Operator

Aviation Star S

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Austin → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN21LA071

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s decision to land on a runway that did not provide enough length to stop the airplane given the wet surface conditions, resulting in a runway excursion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After a 30-minute uneventful instrument flight rules (IFR) flight, the business jet landed in the rain on the 4,311ft-long runway. The pilot reported, and runway skid marks corroborated, that the airplane touched down about 1,000 ft from the approach end of the runway. The pilot reported braking action was initially normal and the anti-skid system cycled twice before it stopped working and he was unable to slow the airplane using the emergency brakes. The airplane continued off the departure end of the runway where it traveled through wet grass and a fence before coming to rest with the landing gear collapsed. A video of the airplane during the landing roll indicated there was a significant amount of water on the runway. No mechanical anomalies were found with the brake/antiskid systems during the postaccident examination of the airplane. Marks on the runway indicated functionality of the antiskid system. Stopping performance calculations estimated the distance required to stop the airplane on the runway was about 4,127 ft. The runway length remaining after the airplane touched down was about 3,311 ft. The pilot was aware of the runway length and weather conditions prior to departure and reported that he should have not accepted the trip.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.