Accident Details
A business flight carrying two pilots and six passengers experienced a runway excursion during a night arrival at an airport. The captain conducted a visual approach with excessive airspeed, crossing the runway threshold more than 50 knots above the reference approach speed (Vref). The before-landing checklist was not completed, and the flaps were set at 20° instead of the required 40°.
Sequence of Events
The airplane touched down near the midfield point of a 6,022-foot non-grooved runway that was wet from earlier precipitation. The captain initially applied intermittent braking, then switched to continuous braking beginning approximately 2,069 feet from the runway end. Thrust reversers were not deployed. The airplane exited the runway at a ground speed exceeding 100 knots, subsequently entering a ditch and striking the airport perimeter fence. This resulted in substantial damage to the forward fuselage.
Examination
Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Operational Context
The operator's flight manual mandated that all approaches follow the stabilized approach concept. For visual approaches, this required establishing and maintaining proper approach speed and landing configuration at least 500 feet above the airport elevation. Neither pilot recognized the need to execute a go-around due to the excessive approach speed or the long landing on a wet runway, ultimately leading to the runway excursion.