- Date
- November 25, 2014, 21:30 local (Nov 26, 2014, 02:30 UTC)
- Place
- Hilton Head Island, SC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N85AVSocata TB 20 Trinidad
- Defining event
- Approach-IFR final approach: Miscellaneous/other
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20141125022079A
- Case key
- 90442
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 inadvertent selection of an incorrect frequency, which resulted in his inability to activate the airport lighting, and his subsequent decision to continue the approach in dark night conditions despite having not positively identified the runway environment.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was conducting an instrument approach for landing in night instrument meteorological conditions. After receiving the approach clearance from air traffic control, the pilot tuned his communication radio to the airport's common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) and attempted to activate the airport lighting by repeatedly pressing the push-to-talk switch. As the pilot continued to descend on the approach, he observed the approach path indicator lights, but could not see the runway edge lights, as they were not illuminated. He again attempted to activate the runway lights, to no avail. The pilot elected to continue the approach, which he described as "high and long," and during the landing roll, the airplane ran off the end of the runway and contacted an airport sign, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. Postaccident examination revealed that the airplane had touched down on a taxiway, and came to rest in a grassy area between the taxiway and the runway. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation, and believed he had incorrectly tuned the CTAF, which resulted in his inability to activate the airport lighting during the approach. Following the accident, a test of the airport's pilot-controlled lighting system revealed no anomalies.
Factual narrative
The pilot was conducting an instrument approach for landing in night instrument meteorological conditions. After receiving the approach clearance from air traffic control, the pilot tuned his communication radio to the airport's common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) and attempted to activate the airport lighting by repeatedly pressing the push-to-talk switch. As the pilot continued to descend on the approach, he observed the approach path indicator lights, but could not see the runway edge lights, as they were not illuminated. He again attempted to activate the runway lights, to no avail. The pilot elected to continue the approach, which he described as "high and long," and during the landing roll, the airplane ran off the end of the runway and contacted an airport sign, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. Postaccident examination revealed that the airplane had touched down on a taxiway, and came to rest in a grassy area between the taxiway and the runway. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation, and believed he had incorrectly tuned the CTAF, which resulted in his inability to activate the airport lighting during the approach. Following the accident, a test of the airport's pilot-controlled lighting system revealed no anomalies.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N85AV
- Reported as
- Socata TB 20 Trinidad (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 458
- Built
- 1985
- Airframe hours
- 2,393
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540 SER, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Robert Herman
- Registered owner
- Flying Country Club Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 4, 2014
- Departed
- TYS · Knoxville, TN
- Destination
- HXD · Hilton Head Island, SC
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- HXD · Hilton Head Island, runway 21, 4,300 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot
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
- 52
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 808 total · 37 in this make and model · 725 as pilot in command · 38 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night
- Wind
- 250° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- KHXD
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 16, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.3 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.