The private pilot stated that, during the flight, the right lens fell out of his eyeglasses.
Aware of powerlines at the approach end of the runway, and with his vision impaired, he flew a higher than normal landing approach to ensure obstacle clearance.
The Mooney M20J landed long, exited the end of the runway at the airport in Lakeway, Texas, and hit a stone mailbox, resulting in substantial damage.
The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to attain a proper touchdown point during landing, which resulted in a runway excursion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s impaired vision due to his broken eyeglasses.
NTSB Identification: CEN17LA198
This May 2017 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
I have used the blue colored Loctite thread lock, the removable type. It has worked so far.
So the guy’s glasses effectively came apart and he could not see clearly with one lens in and one out. And the right lens was out of his reach…
I have had this happen, and have learned to use superglue on the screws. It keeps the screws from coming out, and because of the nature of superglue, will allow one to take the screw out if needed. And then put a drop back on the screw once replaced.
And one needs to carry a backup set of glasses should one have to have them for any reason, such as they fell off your face while looking down, just in time for you to step on them…
Guess a go around and a fly-away to fix the glasses would have been too much to ask. Why do these guys resist the obvious and keep doing these things?
Exactly. Go around. I guess he didn’t see that as an option. 🙂
Clearly you’ve never been in a J model Mooney. If the lens fell out of his glasses and landed on the floor he’d have to be made of rubber to reach them. Sitting in the seat it would be nearly impossible to pick them up.
Still a spare pair of glasses wouldn’t seem to be a bad idea if vision is so poor that without them he’s incapable of flying the airplane. Or just fly the same numbers on landing as always. We all fly the landing approach using predicable and consistent numbers, right?