Cessna 195 N4426C accident near Austin, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot's use of an excessive taxi speed, which resulted in the airplane overrunning the end of the unlit taxiway after the failure of the right wing landing light.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that, as the airplane approached the end of the unlit taxiway, adjacent to the runway threshold, the right wing landing light failed, significantly reducing his forward visibility in the dark night conditions. The pilot cycled the right wing landing light switch as he applied wheel brakes; however, the light did not illuminate. The pilot stated that he was unable to stop the airplane before it departed the end of the taxiway and traveled down an embankment. The airplane overran the end of the taxiway despite the pilot's immediate application of brakes after the failure of the landing light, which is consistent with the pilot's use of an excessive taxi speed. Although the pilot did not recall seeing any reflective markers identifying the end of the taxiway, the end of the taxiway was identified by ground-level red reflectors, and the taxiway edges were identified by evenly spaced blue reflective posts. In response to the accident, the airport authority agreed to purchase additional blue reflective posts to more adequately mark the limits of the unlit taxiway. Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration agreed to amend its Airport Facility Directory to reflect that the taxiway edges were marked by reflector posts and that the northwest end of runway 13-31 and parallel taxiway had a 16-foot descending embankment beginning at the end of the pavement.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN13LA170 for the full record.