Cessna 310R N115CA accident near Lake Placid, New York

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to observe the ongoing construction to the closed runway while landing. Contributing to the accident was flight service's failure to brief the pilot of the closed runway.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was on a night visual flight rules cross-country flight with air traffic control (ATC) flight following, from Iowa to Lake Placid, New York. Throughout the flight the pilot was in contact with several ATC centers. When the flight was about 2 hours from arrival, he obtained a briefing from a flight service station. During the briefing, the pilot was not provided with the notice to airmen regarding the closed runway at his destination airport. During his approach, the pilot was able to activate the closed runway’s lights at the destination airport. The pilot did not notice any abnormality during the approach and landing. During the landing roll, the airplane encountered several gaps on the runway. The airplane incurred damage from the runway surface conditions. The runway was closed and under construction. The runway had unlit "X" markings, eight flashing markers in the middle, and cones located at both approach ends.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for MIA08CA190 for the full record.