Overview
An airplane undershoot at a municipal airport resulted in the aircraft departing the runway end and coming to rest on rough terrain. The incident occurred on a 3,240-foot-long runway. The airport's acting tower manager observed the landing approach and described it as "looked good" but "a lot faster than most twin-engine airplanes." The airplane "appeared to float" and did not touchdown until reaching midfield.
Witness Observations
A pilot-witness standing on the ramp corroborated the tower manager's account, noting that the approach speed was fast. The witness additionally observed that as the airplane passed midfield, its nose wheel had not been lowered to the pavement. This suggests the airplane may have been in a nose-high attitude during the latter portion of the landing.
Pilot's Account
According to the pilot, after touchdown he applied brakes. Although the airplane slowed, he was unable to stop before the airplane exited off the departure end of the runway. The airplane subsequently went down an embankment, collided with rough terrain, and came to rest approximately 120 feet southwest of the runway's end.
Pilot Background
The pilot had previously landed at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport. According to the FAA, at Santa Monica the airplane touched down about 1,000 feet prior to the end of that 4,987-foot-long runway. Three months before the incident, the pilot received a multiengine class rating. At that time, he indicated his total multiengine flying experience was 23 hours of dual instruction.