No fatalities

13 Feb 2013: CESSNA T206H — Sabinal, TX

Sabinal, TX, United States

On 13 Feb 2013, a CESSNA T206H was involved in an aviation accident near Sabinal, TX. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot mistakenly identified a plowed portion of the field for the intended landing area. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot mistakenly landed on a plowed field adjacent to the intended runway due to sun glare, causing the nose wheel to dig in and the airplane to flip over, resulting in substantial damage.

Incident

A pilot was attempting to land on a private unimproved runway during an approach. The field immediately adjacent to the landing area had been recently plowed. The approach was conducted into the direction of the rising sun, which was just coming over the horizon at the time.

During the approach, the pilot mistakenly identified a plowed portion of the field as the intended landing area and proceeded to land on it. Upon touchdown, the pilot noticed the surface was softer than expected and attempted to keep the nose wheel off the ground as long as possible. Eventually, the nose wheel set down in the soft dirt and dug in, causing the airplane to flip over onto its back.

Damage

Both wings, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder sustained substantial damage as a result of the accident.

Probable cause

The pilot mistakenly identified a plowed portion of the field for the intended landing area.

Contributing factors

Causes

Awareness of conditionPilot

Other contributing factors

Effect on equipmentEffect on personnel