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Atlas / NTSB / ERA11CA452

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ERA11CA452

2011-08-14 Front Royal, Virginia, United States Airport · FRR Minor 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to attain the proper touchdown point.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, he was overflying the airport when he had a sudden urge to go to the bathroom. He circled north of the airport and performed a straight-in, stabilized approach to the runway with 25 degrees of flaps. The pilot reduced the power as he crossed the runway threshold and made a normal landing. According to a witness, the airplane landed approximately halfway down the runway and was traveling very fast. The witness stated that the brakes were applied, the airplane swerved, and then it departed the right side of the runway. The airplane traveled down an embankment and came to rest in a ditch resulting in substantial damage to the wing spar and fuselage. The pilot reported there were no preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane. According to the pilot, he was overflying the airport but had to land quickly for personal reasons. He circled north of the airport and performed a straight-in, stabilized approach to the runway. He reduced the power as he crossed the runway threshold and landed. According to a witness, the airplane landed about halfway down the runway and was traveling very fast. The witness stated that the brakes were applied, and the airplane swerved, overran the runway, and departed the right side of the runway. The airplane traveled down an embankment and came to rest in a ditch, resulting in substantial damage to the wing spar and fuselage. The pilot reported there were no preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Surface speed/braking-Incorrect use/operation - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-Landing distance-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_ERA11CA452.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.