Event ERA15LA380

Factual narrative

On September 27, 2015, about 1906 eastern daylight time, a privately owned and operated Cessna 550, N622PG, was substantially damaged during a runway excursion after landing at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), Sarasota, Florida. The airline transport pilot and the passenger sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The flight departed Boca Raton Airport (BCT), Boca Raton, Florida, about 1827.The owner of the airplane stated he had been receiving flight instruction from the pilot, and in return he offered to let the pilot borrow the airplane. The pilot stated that, at the conclusion of the flight, he approached the destination airport and calculated that the landing distance required was "between 2,010 and 2,100 feet." After an uneventful flare, the airplane touched down on runway 22 "shortly after" the runway numbers. After touchdown, the pilot immediately deployed the speed brakes, brakes, and thrust reversers. The pilot said the airplane had slowed to 60 knots at the intersection of runway 14-32, about 3,000 ft from the threshold of runway 22, so he put the thrust reversers in idle reverse. He had considered exiting at taxiway A, which was about 400 feet past the intersection of the two runways but felt it would have required maximum braking. The pilot said he then amended his plan and decided to exit the runway onto taxiway D at the departure end of runway 22, about 2,000 feet beyond the runway intersection. He stated during this time, between taxiway A and D, he held his feet off the brakes, estimating the airplane speed was 20-23 knots. He retracted the flaps, speed brakes, and the thrust reversers. He reported that, as the airplane approached taxiway D, he applied brakes and commented to the passenger, "we have no brakes." He pumped the brakes, then redeployed the speed brakes and thrust reversers and applied the emergency brake. Air traffic controllers in the SRQ tower stated that the airplane touched down in "the vicinity of the aiming point," and that after touchdown they "noticed that they might be a bit fast." The accident sequence was captured by surveillance cameras and a review of the video showed the airplane touched down approximately abeam the B1 taxiway, 1,700 feet beyond the approach end of the runway, and that the thrust reversers were not deployed during the recorded portion of the landing roll. Runway 04/22 at SQR was 5,009 ft long and 150 ft wide; runway 14/32 at SQR was 9,500 ft long and 150 ft wide. Taxiway B was 1,700 feet from the threshold of runway 22, taxiway A was 3,400 feet from the threshold of runway 22. Taxiway A was about 1,600 ft from taxiway D and the departure end of the runway. Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector and an airframe and powerplant mechanic revealed a puncture in the pressure vessel aft of the nose landing gear and damage to the bulkhead belly stringers. Functional testing of the brakes showed that they were operational and did not reveal evidence any pre- or post-impact mechanical anomalies. According to photographs and diagrams prepared by airport management, skid marks that aligned directly with the airplane's tire tracks in the grass began 1,130 feet prior to the departure end of the runway, just past taxiway A. The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with type ratings for Cessna CE-500 and CE-525 airplanes. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on March 18, 2015. Review of flight experience documents provided by the pilot's attorney revealed that the pilot reported 4075 hours of flight experience, of which 1,713 were in turbine-powered airplanes. The 7-seat, low-wing airplane was manufactured in 1978, was powered by two Pratt and Whitney JT15D-4 turbofan engines, and was certified as a two-pilot airplane. Its most recent Phase 1-5 inspections were completed May 29, 2015 at 9,212.9 total aircraft hours. The airplane accrued 52.6 hours since that date. At 1853, the weather reported at SRQ included few clouds at 2,220 and 3,100 feet, calm wind, and 10 miles visibility. The temperature was 27°C, the dewpoint was 25°C, and the altimeter setting was 29.89 inches of mercury. The airline transport pilot was landing at the destination airport at the conclusion of a personal flight. Although the pilot reported that the airplane touched down near the threshold of the runway and that he used speed brakes, brakes, and thrust reversers to slow the airplane, review of a surveillance video revealed that the airplane touched down about 1,700 ft past the runway threshold of the 5,000-ft-long runway and that the thrust reversers were not deployed during the recorded portion of the landing roll. The airplane's tires left over 1,300 ft of skid marks before it overran the departure end of the runway, which resulted in substantial damage. While the pilot stated that the brakes had malfunctioned during the landing, examination and postaccident testing of the brakes revealed no evidence of any mechanical anomalies. Based on the available evidence, it is likely that the pilot landed the airplane well beyond the runway threshold and did not apply adequate braking effort until insufficient runway remained to stop the airplane on the paved surface. 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-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Surface speed/braking-Not attained/maintained - C