During a night approach, the runway precision approach path indicator lights indicated that the Van’s RV-10 was on a proper glidepath, according to the pilot.
Shortly after, the plane encountered a “strong gust of wind” and “lost significant altitude.”
He added engine power and raised the airplane’s nose to intercept the glidepath.
A few seconds later, he felt a slight bump and heard a scraping noise to his right. He looked to the right, and when he returned his focus to the approaching runway, he noticed that the airport lights were no longer lit, and the airport was in “complete darkness.”
He added that he “couldn’t really see anything and wasn’t sure exactly where the runway was, but he knew he was going to have a hard landing.”
He then pulled the power back, moved the mixture to idle cut off, and turned the fuel selector off.
The airplane landed hard off the runway at the airport in Limon, Colorado, bounced, slid sideways, hit a tree, and then came to rest.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, both wings, and empennage.
Following the accident, it was discovered that, during the approach, the airplane struck a power line that supplied the airport power.
According to the FAA inspector assigned to the accident, the power line was estimated to be 75′ above the ground and 1/2 mile from the runway threshold. The power line crossed perpendicular to the runway.
The automated weather observation system at the airport reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 330° at 6 knots. The pilot was on a visual approach for Runway 34.
Probable cause: The pilot’s unstabilized approach and failure to go around at night, which resulted in the airplane hitting a power line and a subsequent hard landing.
NTSB Identification: GAA18CA075
This December 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.
An old accident investigators axiom. If you weren’t there you don’t know and even if you were there your memory is adjusted by the aftermath… do NOT judge. Just temper your own practices. As above, practice, stay current oh, and don’t just practice what you know. Take a more umm seasoned pilot with you (careful with that one…) and try to stretch your envelope. When was the last time you landed at night with your landing light off? Or with the runway lights at full bright? Or off?
Speculation….the key to confusion. Anyway, seems like a couple of bad decisons, mixed in with a couple of good decisions ended up with an alive pilot and a dead airplane.
My guess (speculation) is that the “gust” the was strong enough for the pilot to hit his head, was actually the landing gear snagging the power line cable. Wind at 6 knots, seldom has gusts associated with it, in my humble experience.
As to the rest of the events, I agree…a go around or “go somewhere else” would be the most desirable and recommended option if possible.
Talk about Stupid Pilot Tricks! On short final knowing he is most likely low and the airport lights are suddenly out he just shuts down the engine and waits to see what happens next. Has he never heard of doing a Go-Around when an approach is going badly?
I agree the pilot’s actions were rather inexplicable and sort of deserved the snarky remarks, but the pilot’s report paints a very different picture compared to the NTSB summary. The strong gust encountered on final (while on glideslope) caused the pilot to hit his head on the roof of the plane hard enough to cause bleeding. So who knows how much that affected everything that followed, i.e. his level of consciousness and therefore his ability to control the airplane and make normal observations. He also now had a damaged airplane. Continuing the descent to the ground maybe was the only option. I’m sure you know that actions like shutting down the engine and turning off the fuel selector are basic items on any emergency landing checklist to minimize the chance of fire, so maybe he actually deserves a bit of credit.
You can always go around.
Agree with gbigs and Darrell – questionable technique and aeronautical decision making. The basic illusion on night approaches is very insidious. The runway edge lights seem to have an equal brightness to the end of the runway making one feel the descent is almost straight down. The pilot then ‘corrects’ to get on glideslope but instead finds himself in the trees. Get training and stay current.
1/2 mile and 75 feet agl from the runway and worse, at night? This guy violated every basic there is…
You find yourself on short final, encounter total blackness, so you shut off fuel? WTH
gb,
My thoughts as well. At 1/2 mile I would expect to be 250-400 ft agl.
Maybe he misread the 2 light papi.?