ERA17CA208

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA23 · Cedar Key, FL · June 16, 2017

Accident · No injuriesData collectionFinal report
Date
June 16, 2017, 13:30 local (17:30 UTC)
Place
Cedar Key, FL
Injuries
3 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N4317YPiper PA23
Defining event
Landing-landing roll: Landing area overshoot
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report October 17, 2017
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Eastern Region Aviation
Parties
FAA/FSDO
FAA report
20170616008369A
Case key
95390

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's failure to stop the airplane within the available runway after conducting the approach and landing with a tailwind.

Findings · 5

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.

Performance/control parameters: surface speed/brakingAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Capability exceededPiper PA-23-160: 1 caseAll aircraft: 238 casesProbable cause
Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · PilotPiper PA-23-160: 4 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause
Wind: tailwindEnvironmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Contributed to outcomePiper PA-23-160: 1 caseAll aircraft: 594 casesProbable cause
Aircraft capability: landing distanceAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Capability exceededPiper PA-23-160: 1 caseAll aircraft: 68 casesProbable cause
Object/animal/substance: water/moistureEnvironmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcomePiper PA-23-160: 1 caseAll aircraft: 10 cases

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 reported that the takeoff, climb, and en route portions of the cross-country flight were uneventful. He checked the wind sock before landing, and it was "flaccid," indicating calm wind. He slowed the airplane to 80 mph on final approach and landed near the approach end of the runway, which was 2,355 ft long. He estimated that the airplane should have rolled to a stop; however, it continued down the runway despite heavy braking. The airplane departed the end of the runway, traveled across a small road and down an embankment, and came to rest in water at the edge of the airport boundary. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the wreckage and reported that the airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage and submersion in salt water. There were tire skid marks on the runway leading to the wreckage. A weather buoy, located about 1 mile east of the airport, recorded wind from the west about the time of the accident, which would have resulted in a tailwind of up to 8 knots. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that the takeoff, climb, and en route portions of the cross-country flight were uneventful. He checked the wind sock prior to landing and it was "flaccid," indicating calm wind. He slowed the airplane to 80 mph on final approach and landed near the approach end of runway 5, which was 2,355 feet-long. He estimated that the airplane should have rolled to a stop; however, it continued down the runway despite heavy braking. The airplane departed the end of the runway, traveled across a small road, and down an embankment, coming to rest in the water at the edge of the airport boundary.A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the wreckage and reported that the airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage and submersion in salt water. There were tire skid marks on the runway leading to the wreckage. A weather buoy, located about 1 mile east of the airport, recorded wind out of the west about the time of the accident, which would have resulted in a tail wind of up to 8 knots. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.

Aircraft

Registration
N4317Y
Reported as
Piper PA23 (160)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
23-2041
Built
1962
Airframe hours
3,291
Engines
Lycoming O-320-B3B, 160 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming O-320-B3B, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · June 7, 2017
Departed
CCO · Newnan, GA
Destination
CDK · Cedar Key, FL
Airport
CDK · George T Lewis, runway 05, 2,355 × 100 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Handheld GPS, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, Stall warning system

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
72
Injuries
None
Certificates
Recreational, Flight instructor, Airline transport, Flight engineer
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Last flight review
January 31, 2017
Seat
Left
Restraint
Lap only
Flight hours
24,000 total · 200 in this make and model · 11,000 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
270° at 7 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
3,700 ft broken
Temperature
84 °F, dew point 73 °F
Altimeter
29.93 inHg
Observed at
CTY, 25 nm away

Docket · 4

The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 21, 2017, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.3 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.