Incident Overview
On a morning in daylight hours at 0920 mountain standard time, a Mitsubishi MU-300 Diamond business jet overran runway 02 at the Jasper-Hinton Airport in Alberta. The aircraft was on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight from Williams Lake, British Columbia, to Hinton, Alberta, carrying two pilots and two passengers. The flight was operated under IFR until the crew cancelled IFR during descent to conduct a visual approach and landing.
Weather and Approach
Prior to issuing descent clearance from flight level 270 (FL270), the Edmonton Area Control Centre (ACC) advised the crew of the weather at the Jasper townsite, Alberta, which reported calm winds. During the approach, the crew encountered moderate turbulence on short final. The captain increased the reference airspeed (Vref) from 105 to 115 knots to allow for subsiding air and airspeed fluctuations. The crew noted that the wind sock for runway 02 was fully extended and varying in direction frequently. Despite this, they elected to continue the approach and landing on runway 02.
Landing and Overrun
Power was reduced to idle at 50 feet. The aircraft touched down at about 1,000 feet down the runway. During the landing roll, the captain first applied maximum braking. When he determined that the aircraft would not stop in the remaining runway distance, he initiated commanded swerving to assist in stopping. The aircraft skidded to a position 255 feet off the end of the runway. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, but the occupants were uninjured.
Location and Conditions
The accident occurred at latitude 53°19'N, longitude 117°45'W, at an elevation of 4,016 feet above sea level, during daylight hours.
Probable Cause
The probable cause, as determined by the investigation, was that the aircraft overran the runway because the crew landed with a 14- to 21-knot tailwind. Contributing to the occurrence were the crew's belief that the calm winds given to them by the Area Control Centre for Jasper townsite were for the Jasper-Hinton Airport, and their decision to continue with the straight-in approach procedure without overflying the airport.