Runway Overrun During Night Cargo Landing in Moncton

Incident Overview On a scheduled night cargo flight from Hamilton, Ontario, to Moncton, New Brunswick, an aircraft operating as Kelowna Flightcraft (KFA) 280 landed on runway 06 and overran the runway end by 154 feet. No crew injuries were reported, and the aircraft sustained no damage. ## Runway and Weather Conditions Moncton runway 06/24 was 6,150 feet long and remained open during a snowstorm. Snow was accumulating at about two centimetres per hour in gusty winds, with temperatures between 0 and -1 °C. Airport vehicles were ploughing and sweeping the runway. Before departure, the crew knew Moncton runway conditions would be a concern and added fuel to use Quebec City as an alternate, where weather was clear. ## Communications and Braking Action Reports The crew received weather, runway surface condition, and braking action information from Moncton Air Traffic Control Centre. Earlier reports from a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, a Boeing 737, and a Convair 580 described braking action as poor, while a later Convair 580 reported “fair for the type.” Additional information about icy patches near taxiway Delta was relayed by the Convair crew but was not passed to the KFA 280 crew. Later, the tower provided a runway condition report from a field maintenance foreman, but part of the transmission was garbled. The crew did not hear the words “wet snow or slush” and did not realize information was missing. The tower also relayed braking action reports from a Navajo and a Gulfstream G159, but no times were provided, and the Navajo pilot had not actually reported braking action. ## Crew Performance and Landing The crew used the B727 landing performance chart for wet runways and calculated that the aircraft was more than 40,000 pounds below its theoretical maximum landing weight for the available runway length. They did not account for additional landing distance due to runway contamination. The approach was stable, and the main wheels touched down 1,972 feet from the runway threshold. After touchdown, the crew assessed braking action as satisfactory and applied full brakes, deployed spoilers, and selected reverse thrust. At 70 knots, control was transferred to the captain, and engines one and three were placed in idle reverse. The crew then determined the aircraft was not slowing normally and re-applied full reverse thrust and full brakes. The aircraft stopped in the snow beyond the runway end. ## Contributing Factors The investigation identified incomplete and inaccurate communications, crew decisions, and the absence of company guidance and aircraft performance information for contaminated runways. No mechanical discrepancies were found, and there was no evidence of external pressure to land. The crew reported that, had they known the runway was contaminated with wet snow or slush, they would not have attempted the landing.