ERA19TA122

The flight crew were preparing to land after a cross-country corporate flight with 12 passengers. The pilot reported that the approach was normal but that, during the landing flare, he felt an “unusually hard impact.” The landing roll and taxi to the runway were uneventful. Examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the fuselage, and photographs revealed two tire tracks in the grass about 18 ft before the runway threshold and loose dirt and grass around the threshold, consistent with the airplane's main landing gear touching down in the grass and subsequently impacting the threshold. The pilot flying reported that this was his first landing on that runway at the destination airport. The flight crew did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. It is likely that the flight crew failed to maintain the proper glidepath during the approach.

On March 9, 2019, at 1547 eastern standard time, a Gulfstream G-IV, N505GF, was substantially damaged during landing at Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK) Chamblee, Georgia. The two airline transport pilots and 12 passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Waffle House Inc. under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a corporate flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight, which originated from Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN), Bozeman, Montana, about 1236. The crew reported that the enroute portion of the flight was normal. Upon arrival into the Atlanta area, air traffic control advised them runway 34 at PDK, which was 3,967-ft-long, was in use and runway 21L/ 3R, which was 6,001-ft-long, was closed until 1600, which was about 20 minutes from then. The crew requested to hold until the longer runway opened, but shortly thereafter after determining they had the landing performance, advised that they would be able to land on runway 34. The pilot reported that the approach to landing was normal, but during the landing flare, he felt an "unusually hard impact." The landing roll and taxi to the ramp were uneventful. During a hard landing inspection, substantial damage was found to the fuselage. The flight crew did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. The pilot flying reported that this was his first landing on runway 34 at PDK Photographs provided by the airport manager revealed that two tire tracks commenced in the grass about 18 ft prior to the runway 34 threshold, and lose dirt and grass were observed around the threshold. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman records, the pilot flying held an airline transport pilot certificate and was issued a first-class medical certificate in January 2019. He reported a total flight time of 4,920 hours, of which 125 hours were in the accident airplane make and model. The second pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate and was issued a first-class medical certificate in May 2018. He reported a total flight time of 8,139 flight hours, of which 972 hours were in the accident airplane make and model. According to FAA airworthiness records, the airplane was powered by two turbo-fan Rolls-Royce Tay 611-8 engines. The most recent continuous airworthiness inspection was completed in February 2019. At 1553, the reported weather at PDK included 6 statute miles visibility, haze, a broken cloud layer at 3,700 ft above ground level, variable wind at 4 knots, temperature 17°C, dew point 12°C, and barometric pressure of 30.01 inches of mercury.