ERA18TA266

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 172 · Somerset, PA · September 30, 2018

Accident · No injuriesFinal report
Date
September 30, 2018, 14:20 local (18:20 UTC)
Place
Somerset, PA
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N4001FCessna 172
Defining event
Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report February 11, 2020
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Eastern Region Aviation
Parties
FAA/FSDO
FAA report
20180930016539A
Case key
98380

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 decision to land with insufficient runway remaining to stop, which resulted in a runway overrun.

Findings · 3

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 · Incorrect use/operationCessna 172: 1 caseAll aircraft: 238 casesProbable cause
Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · PilotCessna 172: 30 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause

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

During the airplane's first flight after an annual inspection, the commercial pilot practiced touch-and-go landings and then flew the airplane for about 1.5 hours before returning to the airport. While on final approach to land, he reduced the engine power. The pilot stated that after the airplane touched down on the runway, it was traveling too fast to stop before the end of the runway but not fast enough to abort the landing. Subsequently, the airplane continued off the end of the runway, down an embankment, and came to rest inverted about 150 ft from the departure end of the runway. Postaccident examination of the brakes revealed no anomalies, and the pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot stated that he lands farther down the runway during full-stop landings because his hangar is at the far end of the runway. Thus, it is likely that the pilot landed the airplane too far down the runway and that it was traveling too fast to prevent a runway overrun.

Factual narrative

On September 30, 2018, about 1420 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172, N4001F, was substantially damaged after it overran the runway while landing at Somerset County Airport (2G9), Somerset, Pennsylvania. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight, which originated around 1215. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.According to the pilot, he was practicing touch-and-go landings during the airplane's first flight since its annual inspection. He then departed the airport, flew locally for about 1.5 hours, and returned to the airport to land on runway 25. He noted a 6 knot left crosswind, and while on final approach, he reduced the engine power to perform the landing. When the airplane was at the end of the 5,000 ft-long runway, the pilot knew that it was traveling too fast to stop prior to the end of the runway, but not fast enough to abort the landing. The airplane continued off the end of the runway, down an embankment, and came to rest inverted about 150 ft from the end of the runway. During the accident sequence, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward section of the fuselage and the vertical stabilizer. During a telephone interview, the pilot reported that when doing a full stop landing, he lands further down the runway since his hangar is at the far end of the runway. The 1415 recorded weather observation at the 2G9 included wind from 140° at 6 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear skies, temperature 20° C, dew point 11° C; barometric altimeter 30.31 inches of mercury. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the brakes after the accident revealed that no anomalies were noted. In addition, the pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane prior to the accident that would have precluded normal operation.

Aircraft

Registration
N4001F
Reported as
Cessna 172 (Undesignat)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
36901
Built
1958
Airframe hours
3,458
Engine
Continental O-300-A, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · September 21, 2018 · 2 hours before
Departed
2G9 · Somerset, PA
Destination
2G9 · Somerset, PA
Airport
2G9 · Somerset County, runway 25, 5,002 × 75 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Stall warning system, Handheld GPS

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
68
Injuries
None
Certificates
Commercial, Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
BasicMed

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
140° at 6 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
68 °F, dew point 52 °F
Altimeter
30.30 inHg
Observed at
2G9, 19 nm away

Docket · 5

The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 15, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 846 KB 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.