General Aviation Accident Bulletin, June 20, 2022

AVweb's General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB's website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the accident, although some take longer. Find out more about Aviation Safety at www.aviationsafetymagazine.com.

At 1846 Central time, the airplane was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP), Panama City, Florida. The private pilot and passenger were fatally injured. Instrument conditions prevailed; the flight operated on an IFR flight plan.

After departing Michigan earlier in the day and a fuel stop in Tennessee, the flight neared its destination at around 1830 and was cleared for the ILS Rwy 16 approach. A few minutes later, the pilot reported being established on the localizer and was told to contact the tower. The tower controller provided local weather, which included wind at 150 degrees at six knots, visibility two statute miles in mist and an overcast ceiling at 200 feet AGL. The controller then issued a landing clearance and turned up the runway lights. At this point, the airplane’s track began deviating left and right of the final approach course, with altitude excursions. At one point, the controller told the pilot, “One more thing, and then I won’t transmit again. There are other airports nearby with better weather conditions.” The pilot responded, “Alright; we’ll try this down to minimums and go-around if need be.” About 12 seconds later, ATC stated, “It appears you are drifting a little to the right,” and then repeated, “It appears you are drifting well to the right.” There were no further communications from the pilot. Review of ADS-B data found the final ADS-B data point recorded the airplane at 75 feet MSL, 144 knots groundspeed, with a ground track of 130 degrees. The accident site was 1.55 NM from the runway threshold.

The airplane was substantially damaged at about 0827 Eastern time when its crew lost control after landing on a snow-contaminated runway. The two pilots and one passenger were not injured. Instrument conditions prevailed for the FAR Part 135 air taxi flight.

The training captain was flying with the first officer on Day Six of the FO’s initial operating experience, during which the first officer was the pilot flying. According to the flight crew, they briefed for the conditions at the destination before takeoff. The training captain stated he did not recall hearing any remarks on the ATIS pertaining to runway braking action or surface contamination reports, although he noted remarks about contamination on taxiways and ramp areas.

On checking in with the approach controller, the flight was advised that snowplows were on the runway. He “never anticipated runway contamination” and the crew based their landing distance calculations on a wet runway. The training captain recalled feeling “faster than normal” when the airplane touched down and shortly called for maximum braking. The airplane skidded sideways, departed the end of the runway, and traveled tail-first over the edge of a steep incline, coming to rest in trees. The pilots and passenger evacuated out the main cabin door. The fuselage and wings sustained substantial damage.

Weather at the time included ½ statute mile visibility, light snow, and an overcast ceiling at 400 feet. The airport ATIS was advertising a braking action report of “good” by a Pilatus at 0755 and a field-condition Notam reporting 10 percent runway coverage with 0.125 inches of slush on the landing runway.

At about 1430 Alaska time, the airplane was substantially damaged when its right main landing gear collapsed while taxiing. The pilot and three passengers were not injured. Visual conditions prevailed.

The pilot back-taxied to the departure end of Runway 16. On arriving at the end of the runway, turned to the airplane to align it with the takeoff runway. As he began the turn, the right main landing gear collapsed and the wing and propeller both contacted the runway. The accident pilot, who also was a certificated mechanic, stated the retraction lug on the gear trunnion had separated and a bolt had sheared, which allowed the gear lock-down arm to fold and the landing gear to retract inward on the landing gear door.

The airplane was substantially damaged at about 0230 Central time under unknown circumstances. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. Instrument conditions prevailed; an IFR clearance was not obtained.

According to a family member, the pilot purchased the airplane about six months prior and had not flown it. He departed his residence about 0030 and drove to the airplane’s base to run its engine and taxi around the airport property. At 1309, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter conducting a training flight observed an airplane west of a taxiway. The airplane was inverted in grass, 130 feet from the west end of the taxiway. Tire marks consistent with left and right main landing gear braking were observed on the taxiway up to the runway edge.

At about 1605 Central time, the airplane sustained substantial damage in an off-field landing following engine failure. The pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual conditions prevailed.

About 50 miles from the pilot’s destination, the engine began to run rough. The pilot continued and tried to resolve the engine issue. About 10-15 miles out, the #6 engine cylinder temperature began to rise, and the engine continued to run rough. The #6 cylinder then dropped offline, followed by the #4 and #2 cylinders. The engine was still running, but the pilot could not maintain altitude, so he elected to execute an emergency landing in a field. The airplane came to rest upright with its nosegear collapsed in a snow-covered field about two miles from the destination.

This article originally appeared in the June 2022 issue of Aviation Safety magazine.

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