What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Pilot was cleared to land on runway 5, Merrill airfield. He was familiar with the runway and the airport environment. There was no excessive winds or turbulence on the airport area. The pilot identified the runway and aligned the airplane for landing. Runway 5 does not have runway edge lighting and uses reflective panels to determine the landing area. Upon landing, the pilot noticed the landing was rougher than normal. As the airplane slowed, it veered to the right and came to rest in the ditch between the runway and taxiway. This was the first moment the pilot realized he had landed between the runway and taxiway. The pilot and his passenger escaped the aircraft without injury. Damage was to the right wing, right lift strut, right landing gear, right gear strut, and bottom section of the fuselage.
As the FAA filed it
PILOT WAS CLEARED TO LAND ON RUNWAY 5, MERRILL AIRFIELD. HE WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE RUNWAY AND THE AIRPORT ENVIRONMENT. THERE WAS NO EXCESSIVE WINDS OR TURBULENCE ON THE AIRPORT AREA.THE PILOT IDENTIFIED THE RUNWAY AND ALIGNED THE AIRPLANE FOR LANDING. RUNWAY 5 DOES NOT HAVE RUNWAY EDGE LIGHTING AND USES REFLECTIVE PANELS TO DETERMINE THE LANDING AREA. UPON LANDING, THE PILOT NOTICED THE LANDING WAS ROUGHER THAN NORMAL. AS THE AIRPLANE SLOWED, IT VEERED TO THE RIGHT AND CAME TO REST IN THE DITCH BETWEEN THE RUNWAY AND TAXIWAY. THIS WAS THE FIRST MOMENT THE PILOT REALIZED HE HAD LANDED BETWEEN THE RUNWAY AND TAXIWAY.THE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER ESCAPED THE AIRCRAFT WITHOUT INJURY. DAMAGE WAS TO THE RIGHT WING, RIGHT LIFT STRUT, RIGHT LANDING GEAR, RIGHT GEAR STRUT, AND BOTTOM SECTION OF THE FUSELAGE.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.
Other reports on N3654M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.