Plane Skidded Off Runway After Coming In "A Little" High And
Fast
Editor's Note: Below is the unedited transcript
of the National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report on
the July 30, 2008 landing accident involving an Eclipse 500
very-light-jet.
As ANN reported, the pilot and his young
daughter were uninjured when the plane skidded off the runway at
Brandywine Airport (OQN) in Pennsylvania.
According to the accident pilot, the plane was fully fueled
prior to takeoff from Wings Field Airport in Philadelphia, for the
17 nautical-mile flight to OQN. Factoring in fuel used on the short
trip, and with only one adult passenger and one child onboard, the
aircraft should have been comfortably under the maximum landing
weight for the Eclipse 500.
Runway 9/27 at Brandywine is listed as 3,347' x 50'. Witness
accounts cited in earlier media reports indicate the runway was
damp from recent rainfall, though the NTSB makes no mention of
runway conditions in the prelim. The pilot acknowledges coming in
"a little high" on both altitude and speed.
Though the NTSB's initial report is not a definitive ruling,
the pilot's account would appear to indicate the incident was not
related to a known problem with some Eclipse 500 throttle quadrants
-- that first surfaced in a June landing incident at Chicago's
Midway Airport -- in which the engines become unresponsive to
throttle inputs when the quadrant's range is exceeded.
The Eclipse 500 has suffered a number of maingear tire
blowouts on landing, a malady the company has attributed largely to
pilots coming in too hot on landing (though Eclipse is also working
on a more durable tire). Additionally, many have criticized
Eclipse's decision not to equip the EA500 with anti-skid braking,
particularly after the aircraft's original target weights were
increased with the installation of heavier engines and
wingtip-mounted tip tanks.
Judging by the account below, this incident will likely do
nothing to quell that debate. --
RF
NTSB Identification: NYC08FA261
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, July 30, 2008 in West Chester,
PA
Aircraft: Eclipse Aviation Corporation EA500, registration:
N333MY
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may
contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when
the final report has been completed.
On July 30, 2008, about 1830 eastern daylight time, an Eclipse
Aviation Corporation EA500 business jet airplane, N333MY, sustained
substantial damage during a runway overrun while landing at
Brandywine Airport (OQN), West Chester, Pennsylvania. The
certificated airline transport pilot, and the sole passenger were
not injured. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the
flight that departed Wings Field Airport (LOM), Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. No flight plan was filed for the flight conducted
under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
According to the pilot's written statement, He had the airplane
"topped off" prior to departing for OQN.
During a visual approach for runway 27 at OQN, he "set up for a
normal approach" and "dropped gear" and "one notch of flaps." A
short time later, when the airplane had slowed, he then selected
landing flaps. He believed that he was "a little high" on the
approach so he "dipped down." As he passed the runway threshold his
speed was "a little high," but he thought it was manageable. After
touchdown, he "got on the brakes" and felt the airplane skid, but
decided not to "go around" due to the "distance left." At this
point he was "pumping" the wheel brakes "continuously," and then
applied "full brakes." The airplane then began to skid to the right
and went off the end of the runway.
After leaving the runway, the airplane traveled down a 40-foot
embankment and crossed a service road. The airplane came to rest
against trees and a chain link fence approximately 184 feet beyond
the departure end of runway 27, along a magnetic heading of 265
degrees.
Examination of the airplane revealed multiple fractures and
areas of crush and compression damage to both the airframe and
flight control surfaces. The nose landing gear was separated from
its attach point. Both main landing gear were collapsed, and they
had penetrated the upper surface of the wing structure. The wing
flaps and the flap lever were found in the landing position.