Cessna 172R Runway Overrun and Crash at La Cerdanya Aerodrome (EC-JTI)

Flight Details and Accident Sequence On July 17, 2014, a Cessna 172R with registration EC-JTI, operated by Aeroclub Barcelona Sabadell, was conducting a visual flight rules trip from Sabadell Airport to La Cerdanya Aerodrome in Girona. The flight carried two people: the pilot and one passenger. The aircraft arrived at La Cerdanya at 11:20 local time and entered the traffic pattern for runway 25. The approach was described as long, and the aircraft touched down past the midpoint of the 1,150-meter runway. The pilot reported that the aircraft was traveling at approximately 70 knots at touchdown and that the brakes were ineffective, with the right brake pedal sinking without slowing the aircraft. The plane continued down the runway and lifted off the ground at the end due to an elevation change in the runway extension. It then descended in a slow, left-banked flight without gaining altitude and struck the tops of trees bordering a meadow. The aircraft fell to the grassy ground about 15 meters later, with the nose wheel and propeller striking the surface before the plane overturned. It came to rest inverted 100 meters beyond the end of runway 25. No post-impact fire occurred. Both occupants exited the aircraft under their own power and were treated by emergency medical services shortly afterward. Both sustained serious injuries. The aircraft sustained significant damage, including a damaged left wingtip, a deformed left wing strut, a deformed left horizontal stabilizer, tail and fuselage damage from the rollover, a detached nose gear, and a backward-bent propeller blade tip.