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ERA15CA154

2015-03-04 · Monroe, North Carolina, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport EQY

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain a proper glidepath and failure to perform a go-around once a safe landing could not accomplished, which resulted in a landing area overshoot and runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The pilot had initially intended to perform a GPS approach to runway 23, into the wind; however, the weather was below minimums for that approach and he then elected to perform an instrument landing system (ILS) approach in the opposite direction to runway 5. While about 100 feet above decision height for the ILS approach to runway 5, the pilot did not have the runway environment in sight and started to make the motions to go-around, but did not increase engine power. He then observed the runway centerline markings and due to excess speed and a tailwind, the airplane floated and landed long. When asked about the touchdown point location and speed at touchdown, the pilot estimated it was about 1,000 feet before the departure end of the 7,001-foot-long runway, at a speed of 85 knots. He applied the brakes, but the runway was wet and he did not feel deceleration. He left the flaps fully extended as the airplane traveled off the end of the runway, coming to rest upright in a grass area. The pilot added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. The recorded weather at the airport, about the time of the accident, included an 11-knot tailwind. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the landing gear and lower fuselage. The pilot had initially intended to perform a GPS approach to runway 23, into the wind; however, the weather was below minimums for that approach and he then elected to perform an instrument landing system (ILS) approach in the opposite direction to runway 5. While about 100 feet above decision height for the ILS approach to runway 5, the pilot did not have the runway environment in sight and started to make the motions to go-around, but did not increase engine power. He then observed the runway centerline markings and due to excess speed and a tailwind, the airplane floated and landed long. When asked about the touchdown point location and speed at touchdown, the pilot estimated it was about 1,000 feet before the departure end of the 7,001-foot-long runway, at a speed of 85 knots. He applied the brakes, but the runway was wet and he did not feel deceleration. He left the flaps fully extended as the airplane traveled off the end of the runway, coming to rest upright in a grass area. The pilot added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. The recorded weather at the airport, about the time of the accident, included an 11-knot tailwind. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the landing gear and lower fuselage. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action selection-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_ERA15CA154.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion, go-around). All research papers