# NTSB ERA24LA168: Cessna 208, N90JF, Ellington, CT, April 7, 2024

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report
- Date: April 7, 2024, 10:25 local (14:25 UTC)
- Place: Ellington, CT
- Coordinates: 41.925417, -72.457111
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.9254&lon=-72.4571&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Landing: Landing area undershoot](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/370)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Completed
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties: FAA/FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 194044
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA24LA168
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194044/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194044
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24LA168

## Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain a proper glidepath to the runway, which resulted in a runway undershoot and collision with terrain.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 208, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2073702), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md)
- [Performance/control parameters: descent/approach/glide path](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062040): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 208, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062040/cases.md?model=2073702), [All aircraft, 809 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062040/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Landing: Landing area undershoot](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/370) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 208, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/370/sequence.md?model=2073702), [All aircraft, 201 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/370/sequence.md)
- [Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Cessna 208, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2073702), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The airplane was returning to the airport after releasing five skydivers. During short final approach to the 1,800-ft-long runway, in a gusty headwind, the airplane touched down just prior to the runway and the landing gear struck an embankment. The nosegear separated and the airplane skid onto and off the right side of the runway. It subsequently came to rest upright in a grass area off the right side of the runway. Examination of the wreckage revealed substantial damage to the lower and right fuselage. The examination did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation, nor did the pilot report any.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N90JF](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N90JF), registered now, S/N 20800005, built 1985 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 208
- Registry model: [Cessna 208](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-208) (registry code 2073702) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-114a) (registry code 52257, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 20800005
- Year built: 1985
- Engines: P&W CANADA PT6A-114A 675 horsepower turbo prop
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Skydiving, Part 91
- Operator: Connecticut Parchutists
- Registered owner: Isr Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Airport: 7B9, Ellington Airport, runway 1, 1,800 × 50 ft, asphalt
- Equipment: Stall warning system

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 46; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review April 13, 2023; seat: left; restraint: lap only; flight hours: 865 total, 204 in this make and model, 632 as pilot in command, 210 in the last 90 days, 86 in the last 30 days

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 20° at 13 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: 3,900 ft broken
- Temperature: 46 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observed at: BDL, 10 nm away
- METAR: KBDL 071451Z 02013G20KT 10SM BKN039 OVC045 08/M03 A3005

## 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 20240407005349A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240407005349A), Apr 7, 2024: Cessna 208, Ellington, CT, Substantial damage. On 7 April 2024, at 1520(z) the FAA received notice regarding an accident in Ellington, Connecticut, a Cessna 208 landed on a berm short of runway 01 for…

## Other investigations on N90JF (1)

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.

- [NTSB ERA22LA264](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA22LA264), Jun 4, 2022: Cessna 208 (N90JF), Ellington, CT, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's improper fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, an emergency landing, and runway excursion.

## Docket (5 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 21, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194044. 7.0 MB in all.

- Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 3.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17110714&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Pilot and passenger written statements (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 2.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17110381&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Statements_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Memorandum for the record (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 64 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17110724&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=MFR-Rel.pdf
- Investigation photographs (item 4, PDF, 5 pages, 4 photos, 897 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17110031&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf
- Weather report (item 5, PDF, 1 page, 42 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17110454&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Metars-Rel.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.

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