Fast landing, night approach goes bad

These October 2009 accident reports are provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, they are intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

Aircraft: Cessna 182. Injuries: None. Location: White Plains, N.Y. Aircraft damage: Substantial.

What reportedly happened: The pilot was attempting to land at night. ATC told the pilot to expect runway 29. He glanced at the approach chart and noted the runway was more than 4,400 feet. He entered the downwind leg, then turned onto base leg when the controller requested he proceed direct to the numbers at the best forward speed. He elected to land with no flaps and, while on final approach, was advised by the controller to expedite through the intersection of runways 11/29 and 16/34.

The airplane touched down past the runway intersection, with approximately 2,854 feet of runway remaining to the departure end of runway 29. The pilot-rated-passenger reported that the airplane’s estimated speed to the runway was 110 knots. The pilot flying was unable to stop the airplane before it went off the runway, down an embankment and onto a service road. The nose landing gear collapsed.

After the accident the pilot learned that the runway had a displaced threshold resulting in 3,164 feet being available for landing, not 4,400 as he had thought.

Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to attain the proper touchdown point, resulting in a landing overrun. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s excessive airspeed in an attempt to comply with air traffic control’s request to expedite his landing.

For more information: NTSB.gov NTSB Identification: ERA10CA030