- Date
- December 13, 2005, 14:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Medina, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N290DMMendenhall Lancair 235
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration - Cleveland FSDO
- FAA report
- 20051213032129A
- Case key
- 63089
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 failure to maintain directional control during landing due to an icy runway. Factors to the accident were the ice/snow contaminated runway surface, snow bank, and the pilot's lack of familiarity with the accident airplane.
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
During the landing roll the airplane impacted a snow bank situated alongside the runway and subsequently nosed over. The pilot reported that the runway was contaminated with snow and ice patches. The pilot stated that after touchdown the airplane "immediately began drifting toward the left side of the runway." The pilot reported that he attempted to correct for the drift using right rudder but "lost directional control" and departed off the left side of the runway. The pilot reported that he had 11 hours of flight experience in the airplane and the "runway conditions were much more than I was capable of handling with this aircraft." The accident airplane was equipped with a free-castering nose landing gear and directional control is maintained by differential braking when the rudder becomes ineffective at lower speeds.
Factual narrative
During landing roll the airplane impacted a snow bank situated alongside the runway and subsequently nosed over. The pilot reported that the runway was contaminated with snow and ice patches. The pilot stated that after touchdown the airplane "immediately began drifting toward the left side of the runway." The pilot reported that he attempted to correct for the drift using right rudder but "lost directional control" and departed off the left side of the runway. The pilot reported that he had 11 hours of flight experience in the airplane and the "runway conditions were much more than I was capable of handling with this aircraft." The accident airplane was equipped with a free-castering nose landing gear and directional control is maintained by differential braking when the rudder becomes ineffective at lower speeds.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N290DM
- Reported as
- Mendenhall Lancair 235
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 156
- Airframe hours
- 277
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-D2, 135 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 2005
- Departed
- RYY · Atlanta, GA
- Destination
- 1G5 · Medina, OH
- Airport
- 1G5 · Medina Municipal Airport, runway 09, 3,556 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 37
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 350 total · 11 in this make and model · 309 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.23 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.