- Date
- November 28, 2010, 15:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- North Bend, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N55HUAviat A-1B
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Seattle FSDO
- FAA report
- 20101128051169A
- Case key
- 77888
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to predetermine the depth of the snow on the runway.
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.
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 during a local area personal proficiency flight, he decided to make a full-stop landing on the snow-covered runway of a remote state airstrip. Although he overflew the strip before landing, because he had not predetermined the actual depth of the snow on the surface, during the landing roll the airplane sunk deep enough into the snow that it decelerated at a rate that resulted in it nosing over onto its back. The pilot did not report any airplane malfunctions or anomalies, and he further stated that the accident could have been prevented if he had not landed without first acquiring an "exact verification" of the snow depth on the runway surface.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during a local area personal proficiency flight, he decided to make a full-stop landing on the snow-covered runway of a remote state airstrip. Although he overflew the strip before landing, because he had not predetermined the actual depth of the snow on the surface, during the landing roll the airplane sunk deep enough into the snow that it decelerated at a rate that resulted in it nosing over onto its back. The pilot did not report any airplane malfunctions or anomalies, and he further stated that the accident could have been prevented if he had not landed without first acquiring an "exact verification" of the snow depth on the runway surface.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N55HU
- Reported as
- Aviat A-1B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2046
- Engine
- Lycoming O&VO-360 SER, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Robert Londo
- Registered owner
- Kaihai Corp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Everett, WA
- Destination
- Everett, WA
- Airport
- 4W0 · Bandera State, runway 08, 2,344 × 200 ft, snow
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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 2,774 total · 867 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 37 °F
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 16, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 304 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.
Other investigations on N55HU · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.