Aviation Accident Summaries

Aviation Accident Summary WPR15LA013

Bountiful, UT, USA

Aircraft #1

N647Q

BEECH H35

Analysis

The airline transport pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The pilot reported that, during the flight, the airplane experienced electrical power issues, which prevented him from extending the landing gear. He overflew the runway twice and manually extended the gear, and following touchdown, the airplane departed the runway surface and collided with a hangar. The airplane traveled about 482 ft before it exited the runway surface, and no skid marks or other indications of braking attempts were observed on the runway surface. Weather reports from a nearby airport indicated that a tailwind existed about the time of the landing. The tailwind resulted in a high groundspeed, which likely contributed to the pilot's loss of directional control.

Factual Information

On October 14, 2014, about 1600 mountain daylight time, a Beech H35, N647Q, collided with a hangar after a runway excursion at Skypark Airport, Bountiful, Utah. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The airline transport pilot was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage during the accident sequence. The cross-country personal flight departed Alpine, Wyoming, about 1500 MDT, with a planned destination of Bountiful. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the accident site, and interviewed the pilot. The pilot stated that during the return flight the airplane had electrical power issues, and he lowered the landing gear manually. He overflew the runway twice before landing on runway 34. The FAA inspector determined that the airplane touched down on centerline, and traveled 482 feet prior to exiting the runway surface. A visual examination of the 4,700-foot-long runway did not reveal any skid marks or other indications of braking attempts. After departing the runway, it struck a runway light with the landing gear. It continued approximately 3,000 feet through a grass median and across the taxiway, striking a sign, a gate post, and a hangar. There were no indications of braking throughout the runway excursion. No examination of the airframe was conducted. An automated surface weather observation at Salt Lake City International Airport (KSLC), Salt Lake City, Utah, (elevation 4,227 feet mean sea level, 5 miles southwest of the accident site) was issued 7 minutes before the accident. It indicated wind from 170 degrees at 4 knots, 10 miles or greater visibility, few clouds at 13,000 feet, temperature at 23 degrees C, dew point -1 degrees C, and an altimeter setting at 30.02 inches of mercury. The pilot failed to submit a pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB Form 6120.1.

Probable Cause and Findings

The pilot's loss of directional control during a tailwind landing.

 

Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database

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