Accident Sequence
On September 27, 2015, at approximately 1906 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 550, registration N622PG, experienced a runway excursion after landing on runway 22 at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), Sarasota, Florida. The flight, a personal trip under Part 91, had departed Boca Raton Airport (BCT) around 1827 with an instrument flight rules flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot and the sole passenger sustained minor injuries; the aircraft was substantially damaged.
The pilot reported calculating a landing distance requirement of 2,010 to 2,100 feet. After an uneventful flare, the airplane touched down on runway 22 shortly after the runway numbers. Immediately after touchdown, he deployed speed brakes, brakes, and thrust reversers. The airplane slowed to 60 knots at the intersection of runway 14-32, about 3,000 feet from the threshold, at which point he placed the thrust reversers in idle reverse. He considered exiting at taxiway A (approximately 400 feet past the intersection) but decided against it, feeling it would require maximum braking. He then planned to exit at taxiway D at the departure end, about 2,000 feet beyond the intersection. Between taxiway A and taxiway D, he kept his feet off the brakes and estimated the airplane speed at 20–23 knots. He retracted the flaps, speed brakes, and thrust reversers. As the airplane neared taxiway D, he applied the brakes and told the passenger, "we have no brakes." He pumped the brakes, redeployed the speed brakes and thrust reversers, and applied the emergency brake.
Air traffic controllers at SRQ noted the airplane touched down in the vicinity of the aiming point and that it appeared to be fast. Surveillance video showed the airplane touching down approximately abeam the B1 taxiway, 1,700 feet beyond the approach end of the runway, and that the thrust reversers were not deployed during the recorded portion of the landing roll.
Runway and Airport Information
Runway 04/22 at SRQ is 5,009 feet long and 150 feet wide; runway 14/32 is 9,500 feet long and 150 feet wide. Taxiway B is located 1,700 feet from the threshold of runway 22, and taxiway A is 3,400 feet from the threshold. Taxiway A is about 1,600 feet from taxiway D and the departure end of the runway.
Pilot and Aircraft Information
The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with type ratings for Cessna CE‑500 and CE‑525 airplanes. He held a valid second-class medical certificate issued March 18, 2015. According to documents provided by his attorney, he reported 4,075 total flight hours, including 1,713 hours in turbine-powered aircraft. The airplane, a 1978 Cessna 550, was powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT15D‑4 turbofan engines and was certified for two pilots. It was privately owned and operated; the owner had been receiving flight instruction from the pilot and in return allowed the pilot to borrow the aircraft. The most recent Phase 1–5 inspections were completed on May 29, 2015, at 9,212.9 total aircraft hours; the airplane had accumulated 52.6 hours since then.
Postaccident Examination
A postaccident examination by an FAA inspector and an airframe and powerplant mechanic revealed a puncture in the pressure vessel aft of the nose landing gear and damage to the bulkhead belly stringers. Functional testing of the brakes found them operational with no evidence of pre‑ or post‑impact mechanical anomalies. According to airport management photographs and diagrams, skid marks aligned with the airplane’s tire tracks in the grass began 1,130 feet before the departure end of the runway, just past taxiway A.