C310 HAS LOSS OF ACFT CTL ON LNDG ROLLOUT DUE TO RWY CONDITION OF SNOW AND ICE. ACFT SLIDES INTO SNOW BANK.

Date: 1996-03 · Aircraft: Cessna 310/T310C

Anomalies: other-runway-or-taxiway-excursion|other-unspecified

Synopsis

C310 HAS LOSS OF ACFT CTL ON LNDG ROLLOUT DUE TO RWY CONDITION OF SNOW AND ICE. ACFT SLIDES INTO SNOW BANK.

Narrative

I HAD RECEIVED A WX BRIEFING AND LEFT JAX ON AN IFR FLT PLAN TO TEB. I WAS ALONE IN MY OWN PLANE. WX FROM JAX TO TEB WAS CLR; SMOOTH AND VMC ALL THE WAY TO ABOUT 50 MI S OF TEB AT WHICH TIME THE CONDITIONS REMAINED MOSTLY CLR BUT THE WINDS BECAME VERY GUSTY. A STORM HAD PASSED THROUGH EARLIER IN THE DAY. I WAS FLYING THE ILS 6 APCH. AS THE RWY CAME INTO SIGHT; ABOUT 10 MI OUT; I NOTED THAT THE RWY WAS COVERED WITH SNOW. WINDS WERE INCREASING. A FINAL WIND CHK INDICATED THAT WINDS WERE 310 DEGS AT 19 KTS GUSTING TO 26 KTS. I ASKED TWR ABOUT BRAKING CONDITIONS AND WAS TOLD FIRST THIRD WAS FAIR LAST 2/3 WERE POOR. RWY 1/19 HAD BEEN CLOSED ALL DAY AND HAD BEEN NOTAMED IN MY MORNING BRIEFING AND ON THE ATIS. RWY 6 WAS BEING USED BECAUSE THE OPPOSITE END (WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN RWY 24 AND WOULD HAVE PUT ME INTO A QUARTERING HEADWIND) HAD; I ASSUMED; NOT BEEN PLOWED AND SIMPLY HAD TOO MUCH SNOW. UPON LNDG; THE PLANE VEERED TO THE L AND STARTED TO RUN OFF THE RWY. I APPLIED R RUDDER; GENTLY TRYING TO RETURN THE PLANE TO THE CTR OF THE RWY BUT THE WINDS WHICH WERE NOW DIRECTLY BEHIND AND GUSTING VERY STRONGLY DROVE THE PLANE TO THE R AND THE PLANE CAME TO A HALT IN A SNOWBANK ON THE R SIDE OF THE RWY. THE RWY WAS EXTREMELY SLICK. THE SNOW WAS COVERING A SOLID SHEET OF ICE. UPON REFLECTION I SHOULD HAVE ABORTED THE LNDG AND GONE TO ANOTHER ARPT WHERE WIND AND RWY CONDITIONS WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE FAVORABLE. WHAT CAUSED ME NOT TO MAKE THAT DECISION WAS THAT I HAVE HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCE LNDG IN XWINDS AND PLANES HAD BEEN LINED UP LNDG IN FRONT AND WERE LINED UP BEHIND. NO ONE SEEMED OVERLY CONCERNED IN LISTENING TO THE TWR/PLT CONVERSATIONS. WHAT I WAS NOT AWARE OF WAS THAT ALL THE PLANES LNDG THAT DAY HAD BEEN JETS WHICH WERE MUCH HEAVIER. THERE APPARENTLY HAD BEEN ALMOST NO PISTON PLANES THAT HAD LANDED. A HIGH RANKING INDIVIDUAL TOLD ME; OFF THE RECORD; THAT HE FELT THE ARPT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CLOSED IF RWY 24 COULD NOT BE OPENED. I'M SURE THE REASON IT WAS NOT WAS DUE TO THE HVY AMOUNT OF CORP JET TFC AND THE INCONVENIENCE THAT WOULD BE CAUSED. IS IT NOT POSSIBLE THAT AN ARPT LIKE TEB SHOULD ON RARE OCCASIONS LIKE THIS BE CLOSED TO PISTON PLANE OR PLANES UNDER A CERTAIN GROSS WT AND ONLY OPEN TO TURBINE AND HEAVIER CRAFT? IS IT DISCRIMINATORY TO SIMPLY SAY THIS ARPT AND THESE CONDITIONS ARE SAFE FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF ACFT AND NOT FOR OTHERS? AND IF PLTS DO NOT WISH TO GIVE UP THIS DECISION PROCESS; WOULD IT NOT BE PRACTICAL TO NOTE THIS ON THE ATIS: WIND AND RWY CONDITIONS MAKE LNDG ACFT UNDER XXXX LBS GROSS WT INADVISABLE. YES; I SHOULD HAVE LOOKED AT THE INFO COPIED FROM THE ATIS PERHAPS MORE CAREFULLY; AND YES WHEN THE TWR TOLD ME THE WINDS ON MY FINAL WIND CHK AND RPTED THE POOR BRAKING CONDITIONS I SHOULD HAVE ABORTED BUT I WAS DECEIVED BY THE CALM BANTER BTWN PLTS IN FRONT AND BEHIND. IF I HAD HEARD A STATEMENT ON THE ATIS THAT LNDG WAS NOT ADVISED FOR PLANES UNDER 7000 LBS I WOULD HAVE PERKED UP FASTER AND PLANNED MY MISSED APCH AND REQUEST TO ANOTHER FIELD.

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