What happened
On 2 July 2006, a Cessna 150M, registration G-BRNC, was performing a private flight at Netherthorpe Airfield in Nottinghamshire. The pilot approached Runway 06, a grass surface with a 1.9% downslope, intending to land on the grass portion of the strip. The wind was recorded at 5 knots from 030 degrees.
The aircraft touched down on the numbers with an airspeed of approximately 60 knots, which was roughly 8 knots above the standard 50 ft threshold speed. As the aircraft proceeded down the runway, it failed to decelerate sufficiently to stop within the available 407 m of runway distance. Realising the aircraft would not stop before the intersection with Runway 18/36, the pilot attempted to brake and then steered the aircraft to the left. This caused the aircraft to depart the runway and collide with a steel gate, resulting in damage to the propeller and the front engine cowling. The pilot sustained no injuries.
The investigation
The investigation examined the landing performance requirements and the environmental conditions at the time of the accident. It was noted that the declared landing distance required for G-BRNC is approximately 330 m. However, when applying safety factors for the specific conditions—including the wet grass (1.35 factor), the downhill slope (1.1 factor), and an additional safety margin (1.43 factor)—the calculated required distance rose to 701 m. This exceeded the available runway distance by 294 m. The investigation also considered the impact of the higher approach speed and the lack of a headwind on the aircraft's stopping distance.