Rockwell International 690B N700PQ accident near Grass Valley, California

Probable cause

The pilot’s unstabilized approach and failure to go around and his subsequent failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll.

NTSB analysis

The airline transport pilot reported that, after returning from a fire mission, the airplane floated over the runway and landed long (about 1,500 to 1,800 ft down the runway, which left a maximum of about 2,850 ft of runway remaining). He reduced the power setting to flight idle and then adjusted the thrust levers to (beta) reverse. As the landing roll continued, the pilot adjusted the levers for less reverse thrust. Aware that the ground speed was too fast to make the normal exit turnoff, he applied full reverse thrust again. The airplane then swerved left, departed the runway, impacted some boulders, and came to rest upright in a drainage area.

A postaccident examination of the brake system and engines revealed no evidence of mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. If the pilot had initiated a go-around when he realized the airplane was going to land long, he would not have had to modulate the reverse thrust multiple times to make the turnoff.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR15TA002 for the full record.