HAMBURG, NY, USA
N8041R
BEECH A-24-R
ARRIVING AT HIS DESTINATION AIRPORT, THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO OBTAIN AIRPORT ADVISORY INFORMATION. ON HIS FIRST APPROACH TO RUNWAY 01, THE PILOT CONSIDERED HIMSELF HIGH AND FAST, AND EXECUTED A GO-AROUND AT 50 TO 75 FEET. DURING THE SECOND APPROACH, HE TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 1/3 TO 1/2 OF THE WAY DOWN THE 2500 FOOT RUNWAY. THE PILOT DECIDED THAT HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO STOP THE AIRPLANE, RETRACTED THE FLAPS, AND APPLIED FULL POWER. HE ROTATED AT THE END OF THE RUNWAY TO CLEAR A 4 FOOT FENCE, CROSSED A HIGHWAY, AND SETTLED INTO BRUSH AND TREES. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THERE WAS NO MALFUNCTION OF THE AIRCRAFT, THE ENGINE OR ANY OF THE SYSTEMS PRIOR TO THE IMPACT. WINDS REPORTED AT AN AIRPORT 15 MILES AWAY WERE FROM 220 DEGREES AT 9 KNOTS. THE PROCEDURE FOR A BALKED LANDING IN THE PILOT'S OPERATING HANDBOOK IS TO RETRACT THE FLAPS AFTER CLEARING THE OBSTACLES.
On May 21, 1994, about 1045 eastern daylight time, a Beech A-24-R, owned and piloted by James T. Houser, was substantially damaged during an aborted landing at the Hamburg Inc. Airport, Hamburg, New York. The pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. An instrument flight rules (IFR) plan had been filed for the flight operating under 14 CFR 91. In the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, the pilot stated that arriving at his destination there was no response to his requests for airport information on the advisory frequency. On his first approach to runway 01 he was high and fast. He performed a go-around at 50 to 75 feet and entered the downwind for another approach. On the second approach he touched down about 1/3 of the way down the runway. He tried to brake, but "veered a bit to the right." He retracted the flaps and realized that he was not going to be able to stop by end of runway. He further stated: "...[I] feared hitting parked planes or going onto I-90. [I] gave full throttle...[at] end of runway...pulled back on yoke, got over I-90 and traffic, but not above trees. On far side of I-90 went into trees about 15 to 20 feet high." The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector's report stated: "...The pilot stated that he was somewhat intimidated by the appearance of a deep, steeply sided creek at the approach end of the runway...he touched down approximately half way down the runway, decided he would be unable to stop, fully retracted the flaps, applied full power, and rotated to clear a 4 foot chain link fence at the end of the runway...The pilot stated that there was no malfunction of the aircraft, the engine, or any of the systems prior to the impact...." The winds reported at an airport, about 15 miles from the accident site, were from 220 degrees at 9 knots. According to the Pilot's Operating Handbook, the procedure to follow during a balked landing is to place the carburetor heat to cold, power to full throttle, maintain balked landing airspeed until clear of the obstacles, trim to best rate of climb airspeed and flaps up.
The pilot's failure to establish a positive climb rate, which resulted in an inflight collision with trees. Factors were a tailwind, the pilot's premature raising of the flaps, and his failure to do a go around.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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