# NTSB ERA18TA266: Cessna 172, N4001F, Somerset, PA, September 30, 2018 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Final report - Date: September 30, 2018, 14:20 local (18:20 UTC) - Place: Somerset, PA - Coordinates: 40.034442, -79.023887 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.0344&lon=-79.0239&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 11, 2020 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 98380 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA18TA266 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/98380/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=98380 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA18TA266 ## Probable cause The pilot's decision to land with insufficient runway remaining to stop, which resulted in a runway overrun. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: surface speed/braking](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062045): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Incorrect use/operation (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062045/cases.md?model=2072402), [All aircraft, 238 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062045/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172, 30 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2072402), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172, 19 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=2072402), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300); cases with it: [Cessna 172, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=2072402), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172, 11 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=2072402), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## 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](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4001F-2023-04-22), registration cancelled 2023-04-22, S/N 36901 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172 (Undesignat) - Registry model: [Cessna 172](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172) (registry code 2072402) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 36901 - Year built: 1958 - Airframe hours: 3458 - Engines: 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 ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 68; injuries: none; 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 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20180930016539A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180930016539A), Sep 30, 2018: Cessna 172, Somerset, PA, Substantial damage. The pilot stated he landed long because his hangar was at that end of the airport. He stated he touched down at or near the intersection on runway 25,… ## Docket (5 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 15, 2019, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=98380. 846 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 225 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40476766&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Pilot Interview Summary (item 2, .PDF, 141 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40476767&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%20Interview%20Summary-Master.PDF - Memorandum of Record - FAA Inspector Statement (item 3, .PDF, 127 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40476768&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20of%20Record%20-%20FAA%20Inspector%20Statement-Master.PDF - Weather Reports and Records (item 4, .PDF, 157 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40476769&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Reports%20and%20Records-Master.PDF - Investigative Photograph (item 5, .PDF, 1 photo, 196 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40476770&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Investigative%20Photograph-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.