PLT TRAINEE IN TRAINING ON TYPE LANDS SHORT OF DISPLACED THRESHOLD OF ACTIVE RWY.

Date: 1992-07 · Aircraft: Small Aircraft; High Wing; 1 Eng; Retractable Gear

Anomalies: deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-clearance|other-unspecified

Synopsis

PLT TRAINEE IN TRAINING ON TYPE LANDS SHORT OF DISPLACED THRESHOLD OF ACTIVE RWY.

Narrative

IN BRIEF; I LANDED ABOUT 50 FT SHORT OF THE BOEING FIELD RWY 31R THRESHOLD LINE. THIS WAS AT THE END OF A 1.6 HR FIRST FLT AND CHKOUT IN AN SMA TYPE 2; AND AFTER A LONG DAY AT WORK. I HAD MADE 3 GOOD LNDGS AND THIS WAS TO BE THE FINAL ONE. I WANTED TO TRY A SHORT FIELD LNDG AND TO SET DOWN ON THE RWY NUMBERS. ON FINAL APCH MY ATTN WAS DRAWN TO A TAXIING WDB FREIGHTER UNDER THE APCH PATH AND TO MAINTAINING A FLT PATH ON THE VASI. ALTHOUGH I FEEL I REMAINED ON THE VASI; MY INSTRUCTOR SAID HE FELT THAT; WHILE I WAS ON THE VASI; I WAS A LITTLE LOW ON IT AND SHOWED A TRACE OF PINK ON THE BOTTOM LIGHT AT ONE POINT. WITH MY CONCERN ABOUT KEEPING THE FLT PATH HIGH; I SUBCONSCIOUSLY PULLED BACK ON THE YOKE; AND MY AIRSPD DROPPED FROM THE DESIRED 65 KIAS TO 60 KIAS. ONCE OVER THE PAVED PORTION OF 31R; I REDUCED PWR TO SET DOWN ON THE NUMBERS; BUT THE SINK RATE WAS GREATER THAN I EXPECTED. AT ABOUT 50 FT AGL; I STILL THOUGHT THE LNDG FLARE AND SUBSEQUENT FLOAT WOULD CARRY ME ONTO THE NUMBERS. IN FACT; THE PLANE EXHIBITED NO FLOAT AT ALL; AND WE LANDED ABOUT 50 FT SHORT OF THE THRESHOLD LINE. THE TOUCHDOWN WAS NOT A HARD ONE AND WAS ON PAVED RWY; THERE WAS NO DAMAGE OR HARM OF ANY SORT. HOWEVER; AS MY INSTRUCTOR VIGOROUSLY POINTED OUT; LNDG 50 FT SHORT AT SOME ARPTS CAN MEAN NOT MAKING THE RWY AT ALL. I MADE 2 MAIN MISTAKES WHICH CAUSED THIS EVENT: 1) I PICKED AN INTENDED TOUCHDOWN POINT TOO CLOSE TO THE THRESHOLD; THE PROBLEM BEING THE NUMBERS ARE AN OBVIOUS; BUT PERHAPS NOT SAFE; TARGET FOR A SPOT LNDG. PERHAPS I ALSO SHOULDN'T HAVE ATTEMPTED A SPOT LNDG ON A RWY AT WHICH FLYING THE VASI IS SO CRITICAL. 2) I LET THE SPD DROP TO 60 KTS AND EXPECTED THE ACFT TO PERFORM ABOUT THE SAME WAY IT DID AT 65 KTS. I DID THIS IN AN UNFAMILIAR ACFT WHICH; AS IT TURNS OUT; FLARES NORMALLY AND FLOATS SLIGHTLY AT 65 KTS; BUT SINKS LIKE A STONE AT 60 KTS. THE SMA TYPE 1; WITH WHICH I AM MUCH MORE FAMILIAR; AND WHICH FEELS THE SAME IN MANY OTHER RESPECTS; FLOATS SLIGHTLY EVEN AT 60 KTS. I PROBABLY SHOULDN'T HAVE TRIED A SPOT LNDG IN A PLANE I HAD ONLY LANDED 3 TIMES BEFORE. FATIGUE AND A HEADACHE BROUGHT ON BY 'HEADSET SQUEEZE' WERE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS IN MY POOR PERFORMANCE.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.