History of the Flight
The Mitsubishi MU-300 Diamond business jet was on an instrument flight rules flight from Williams Lake, British Columbia, to Hinton, Alberta, with two pilots and two passengers. Prior to descent from flight level 270, the Edmonton Area Control Centre provided the crew with the Jasper townsite weather, reporting calm winds. The crew cancelled IFR during descent and continued for a visual approach to runway 02 at Jasper-Hinton Airport.
On short final, the crew encountered moderate turbulence. The captain increased the reference airspeed from 105 to 115 knots to account for subsiding air and airspeed fluctuations. The wind sock for runway 02 was fully extended and varying in direction frequently. The crew elected to continue the approach and landing. Power was reduced to idle at 50 feet. The aircraft touched down about 1,000 feet down the runway. During the landing roll, the captain first applied maximum braking, then initiated commanded swerving when he determined the aircraft would not stop within the remaining runway. The aircraft skidded to a position 255 feet off the end of the runway. The aircraft sustained substantial damage; the occupants were uninjured.
Meteorological Information
The Environment Canada weather for Jasper townsite at 0900 MST reported winds from 210 degrees true at two knots. The Jasper townsite weather office is about 30 nautical miles from Jasper-Hinton Airport. At the airport, the automated weather observation system reported winds from 200 degrees magnetic at 14 knots, gusting to 21 knots at 0920 MST. The winds had been from the southwest for several hours prior.
Aerodrome Information
The Jasper-Hinton Airport has a 4,500-foot by 100-foot asphalt runway oriented 020/200 degrees magnetic. The runway is dry and bare. The airport is uncontrolled and often unmanned. The Canada Air Pilot indicates a downslope on the runway which increases landing distance.
Probable Cause
The Board determined that the aircraft overran the runway because the crew landed with a 14- to 21-knot tail wind. Contributing to the occurrence were the crew's belief that the calm winds given to them by the Area Control Centre for Jasper townsite were for the Jasper-Hinton Airport, and their decision to continue with the straight-in approach procedure without overflying the airport.