Civil Air Patrol Aircraft Collides with Hangar After Landing Gear Collapse (N661T)

Accident Summary

A Civil Air Patrol pilot attempted to turn on the pilot-controlled runway lights, but they failed to illuminate. He decided to make an approach to see if he could locate the unlit runway. The pilot reported that the runway was in sight and in front of him when he flared for landing. The airplane touched down in the median between the runway and a parallel taxiway and struck a rise in the runway turnoff. The left main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane skidded across the taxiway before colliding with a hangar.

Investigation Findings

CAP investigators found that the runway lights master switch was turned off. The rear seat passenger reported seeing something run across the runway when the airplane was on short final. The pilot turned his head left and rearward and told the passenger it was probably a coyote. A CAP flight made the following morning at approximately the time of the accident concluded that the runway was clearly visible throughout their approach. However, floodlights in the hangar area as well as those from a nearby baseball field caused their pilot's eyes to adjust, and contact with the landing area was momentarily lost.