On August 5, 1996, a Cessna U206F (registration N8313Q) operated by West Isle Air was involved in an aviation accident near Crane Island, WA. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: the pilot's failure to correctly judge the surface winds in the vicinity of the runway. Factors relating to the accident were: a tailwind during landing, a short runway with a wet surface, and an embankment/drop-off at the end of the airstrip. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive; 1 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A pilot overran a wet grass airstrip on Crane Island after landing with an undetected tailwind. The aircraft went over an embankment at low speed.
Incident Details
A pilot flew over a 1,800-foot-long grass airstrip on Crane Island to assess its condition and determine wind direction before landing. Believing the wind to be calm after the overflight, the pilot elected to make an approach over water to the southeast. During the landing roll-out on the wet grass, the aircraft was unable to stop before reaching the end of the strip. It then went over an embankment or drop-off at the end of the airstrip at an estimated speed of 10 to 12 miles per hour.
Post-Accident Findings
Following the incident, the pilot determined that a tailwind of 8 to 10 knots was present during the landing, contrary to the earlier calm wind assessment. The pilot noted that the windsock had not accurately reflected this tailwind.