Accident Details
The accident occurred during a night landing at the pilot's home airport. The airplane touched down approximately 1,400 feet down the 3,864-foot runway and subsequently overran the runway surface, coming to rest about 851 feet beyond the departure end. The pilot was operating the airplane under a single-pilot waiver that he had obtained two months prior to the accident. The aircraft was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration for a flight crew of two. The pilot was returning from a personal event with his family.
Approach and Landing
Witnesses stated that the pilot’s approach into the airport was not consistent with previous approaches, in which the airplane would touch down directly on the runway numbers. They also reported hearing the thrust reversers deploy, followed by a return to the stowed position. According to the airplane flight manual, once thrust reversers have been deployed, a pilot should not attempt to restow them and take off. Two sink rate warnings were issued during the approach to landing, which should have alerted the pilot to the unstabilized approach.
Performance Calculations
Performance calculations indicated that the airplane would have required an additional 765 to 2,217 feet of runway to execute a full stop landing under the existing conditions.
Probable Cause
The official probable cause is the pilot's unstabilized approach to the runway and failure to obtain the proper touchdown point, which resulted in a runway overrun.