What happened
On August 4, 2015, a Cessna 172S, registration I-GESP, was performing a visual flight rules (VFR) flight from Ancona Falconara to the Sabaudia airpark (aviosuperficie) in Italy. The aircraft was carrying the pilot and three passengers for a recreational flight.
During the approach to runway 14, the pilot conducted a reconnaissance flight at 1,000 feet. The aircraft was configured with full flaps for landing. Evidence from ground tracks and eyewitness accounts indicates that the aircraft made contact with the grass runway approximately halfway down the strip. The pilot was unable to decelerate the aircraft before the end of the runway. The aircraft struck a plastic barrier at the edge of the runway and continued into a deep embankment beyond the runway threshold, where it came to rest against several trees. All four occupants escaped the wreckage without injury, though the aircraft sustained significant damage to the propeller, landing gear, flaps, and empennage.
The investigation
The ANSV investigation examined the aircraft's performance capabilities, the pilot's recent flight history, and the environmental conditions at the time of the accident. Investigators analyzed the aircraft's weight, noting that while the takeoff mass likely exceeded the maximum takeoff mass (MTOM), the landing mass was estimated to be approximately 2,538 lbs, just 12 lbs below the maximum allowable landing weight.
Technical inspections of the braking system confirmed that the brakes were fully functional and that the pilot had applied them during the rollout. The investigation also reviewed the pilot's experience, noting that this was the pilot's first time operating at the Sabaudia airpark. Furthermore, the investigation compared the requirements for landing on this short grass strip to the pilot's recent experience on a much longer, paved runway in Montegiorgio.
Findings
- Inadequate management of the landing maneuver by the pilot, who failed to stop the aircraft within the remaining runway length.
- The pilot did not retract the flaps after touchdown to maximize braking performance, as recommended in the Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) for short-field landings.
- Inadequate flight planning regarding the specific challenges of the airfield.
- The aircraft's landing mass was near the maximum allowable limit.
- The pilot lacked familiarity with the Sabaudua airfield and had limited experience operating on grass strips with similar constraints.
- The airfield's configuration, featuring deep depressions at both runway ends, increased the risk of an excursion.
- A possible tailwind component may have contributed to the increased ground roll distance.