What happened
During a flight intended to land at Rochester International Airport (RST) in Minnesota, the flight crew encountered severe thunderstorms and wind gusts. Despite warnings from air traffic control regarding significant weather deviations required to avoid the storms, the crew attempted to continue their descent. The crew eventually decided to divert to Ellen Church Field Airport (CJJ) in Cresco, Iowa, an airfield with which they were unfamiliar and which lacked weather reporting capabilities.
During the approach to CJJ, the crew failed to utilize onboard navigation tools or charts to verify runway dimensions. Although the enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) issued an alert, the pilots misidentified the warning as being related to their rate of descent. The crew also failed to notice that the runway was significantly shorter than the 5,000 feet they had previously assumed. The aircraft landed on a wet runway with a tailwind, which required approximately 5,200 feet to stop, but the available runway length was only 2,949 feet. Consequently, the Cessna 560 overran the runway, traveling approximately 1,700 feet beyond the end of the pavement.
Findings
- The flight crew demonstrated poor aeronautical decision-making by attempting to land at an unsuitable airport despite known severe weather and inadequate runway length.
- There was a significant lack of crew resource management (CRM), characterized by a lack of leadership and ineffective communication between the pilots.
- The crew failed to use available onboard resources, such as the flight management system, to identify critical airport information.
- The pilots did not respond appropriately to the EGPWS alert, incorrectly attributing the warning to their descent rate.
- Toxicology results indicated the pilot in the right seat had recently used a prescription muscle relaxant, which may have contributed to impairment or distraction.