What happened
On January 24, 2007, a Cessna 550 Citation Bravo, registered LZ-ABV, was operating flight VBC 3004 from Geneva to Samedan. The flight, operated by Air VB, initially proceeded under IFR conditions with two crew members and six passengers on board. During the descent, the crew transitioned to VFR flight rules at the request of air traffic control.
Prior to arrival, the crew was informed by the Samedan tower that the runway was approximately 75% covered in ice, with a poor braking coefficient. Despite this information, the aircraft performed an unstable approach. The aircraft touched down near the centerline of runway 03, but due to excessive approach speed and an overweight condition, the crew was unable to halt the aircraft on the runway. The plane drifted right, overran the end of the runway, and came to a stop in the snow approximately 20 meters past the threshold at a speed of roughly 30 knots. There were no injuries to the crew or passengers, and the aircraft sustained no damage.
The investigation
Investigators examined flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) information to reconstruct the final minutes of the flight. The analysis revealed that the aircraft was not stabilized in terms of bank angle, pitch, configuration, or speed during the final approach. Specifically, the FDR recorded significant bank angles of up to 64 degrees and pitch changes ranging from 12 degrees nose down to 7 degrees nose up. The CVR captured cockpit warnings for both sink rate and bank angle shortly before touchdown.
Furthermore, the investigation looked into the operational parameters, noting that the aircraft's landing mass exceeded the maximum allowable limits for the planned operation. The investigation also reviewed the discrepancy between the operator's landing distance calculations for non-dry runways and the manufacturer's approved procedures.