- Date
- July 1, 2003, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Eveleth, MN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N30CMCessna A185F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 1, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-Minneapolis, MN FSDO
- FAA report
- 20030701012229A
- Case key
- 57418
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's misjudgment of speed and distance resulting in an overrun. Factors were the ditch embankment, and the tailwind component.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane was substantially damaged when it overran the grass runway and hit a ditch embankment. The pilot reported that on the final landing attempt he landed past a mower that had cleared the runway about 1/4 of the way down the length of the runway. He stated that he touched down past the halfway point on the runway and was too fast to stop on the grass runway, subsequently impacting the ditch embankment. The pilot reported no mechanical difficulties with the airplane. The tailwind component was calculated to be 5 knots.
Factual narrative
On July 1, 2003, at 1430 central daylight time, a Cessna A185F, N30CM, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage when it overran runway 36 (1,800 feet by 100 feet, grass/turf) and went into a ditch at the Sky Harbor Seaplane Base, Eveleth, Minnesota. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight originated from the Manitowish Waters Airport, Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, at 1310.
The runway is adjacent to the seaplane base and is used by aircraft coming to the base to have floats installed.
In a written report, the pilot stated that on his first landing approach, he noticed a mower on the runway and aborted the landing. He contacted the airport to have the mower exit the runway. The pilot stated that he circled the airstrip 2 to 3 times before making another landing attempt. On the second landing attempt, the mower had moved to the right side of the runway about 1/4 of the way down the length of the runway. The pilot stated that he landed past the location of the mower, touching down past the halfway point on the runway. He reported that the airplane was too fast to stop on the grass runway, subsequently impacting the ditch embankment. The pilot reported no mechanical difficulties with the airplane.
A weather reporting station about 2 nautical miles and 200 degrees from the accident site recorded the wind at 1436 as 230 degrees at 8 knots. The tailwind component was calculated to be 5 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N30CM
- Reported as
- Cessna A185F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18502443
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D-24, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 9, 2003
- Departed
- D25 · Manitowish Wate, WI
- Destination
- 9Y5 · Eveleth, MN
- Airport
- 9Y5 · Sky Harbor, runway 36, 1,800 × 100 ft, grass/turf
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- December 18, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 630 total · 287 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- EVM, 2 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.