Cessna 525A N800VT accident near Storm Lake, Iowa

Probable cause

The pilot’s decision to land on a water contaminated runway, which resulted in a runway excursion during the landing roll. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of knowledge regarding the landing distance required and the limited braking effectiveness on a water contaminated runway.

NTSB analysis

The pilot canceled his instrument flight plan and proceeded under visual flight rules to his destination airport, avoiding the local thunderstorms that were in the area. The pilot reported that he landed just beyond the runway numbers and applied full braking. He reported that during the landing roll out, the wind shifted from a quartering headwind to a tailwind, and that he was unable to stop the airplane on the runway due to the wet runway condition and the wind. The airplane departed the runway, causing the nose gear and the left main landing gear to collapse about 325 feet from the departure end of runway. The pilot stated that there was standing water on the runway and with the brakes fully applied, the airplane responded as if it didn't have any. The inspection of the airplane’s tires, brake system, and anti-skid system revealed no pre-accident anomalies.

The Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) provided the information required for determining the landing distance for dry runways, wet runways, and water contaminated runways. The AFM Landing Distance Tables indicted that the landing distance on a wet runway was about 4,050 – 4,350 feet; and the landing distance on a water contaminated runway (0.125 inch) was about 5,900 feet – 6,250 feet. The pilot thought that he needed less than 5,000 feet of runway to stop the airplane, indicating he was not familiar with the required contaminated runway landing distance.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN10LA335 for the full record.