Event NYC00LA212

Factual narrative

On July 28, 2000, at 1706 Eastern Daylight Time, a Piper PA-46, N555JV, was substantially damaged while landing, when it ran off the end of the runway at the Chatham Municipal Airport, Chatham, Massachusetts. The certificated private pilot and passenger received minor injures. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that originated from Teterboro, New Jersey. An instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed, and the flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the pilot, once in the terminal area at Chatham, he was vectored to the final approach course for the GPS-A approach. After intercepting the course approximately 1 mile inside the final approach fix, he lowered the landing gear, and selected 10 degrees of flaps. He maintained between 110 and 120 knots indicated airspeed (IAS), and entered visual meteorological conditions between 800 and 1,000 feet agl. Once clear of the clouds, the pilot maneuvered the airplane for a left downwind entry for Runway 24, which was approximately 3,000 feet long. Before entering the downwind, he selected the propeller control to "maximum," the mixture control to "full rich," and the fuel boost pump to "on." On downwind, he selected 20 degrees of flaps. He completed the base leg of the traffic pattern, turned final, and selected 38 degrees of flaps. The pilot estimated that he crossed the threshold at 80 knots IAS, and that the airplane touched down approximately 300 to 400 feet past the landing threshold. During rollout, the pilot used the brakes, and the airplane decelerated to approximately 10 knots. The pilot planned to use the taxiway located at the end of the runway. He applied the right brake to turn onto the taxiway, but did not feel the airplane respond. He then applied both brakes. The airplane continued to decelerate, but there was insufficient runway remaining to stop. The airplane departed the end runway, the right wing struck the ground, and the airplane came to a stop. The pilot had approximately 131 hours in the accident airplane make and model, with 115 hours of that in the accident airplane. Regarding the brakes on the airplane, the pilot thought, but was not sure, they required more pressure to obtain the same amount of deceleration force than other PA-46's. According to an instructor that had flown the accident airplane, no matter how hard he applied the brakes, the wheels would not lockup. He also said that on several occasions he missed a turnoff he thought the airplane would make easily. He added that although the airplane seemed hard to stop, he never thought that it compromised safety. According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the right wing was partially separated from the fuselage. Both the left and right flaps where in the up position, and the flap selector was set to "0." In addition, the flaps could still be raised and lowered via the selector. He added that during his visual examination of the brakes, he found no anomalies, and that maintenance personnel verified continuity of the system. The inspector also reported that the airplane was manufactured in 2000, and had approximately 116 hours total-airframe time. According to the manufacturer, the airplane was designed with hard surface brake rotors and pads. In addition, they would not expect a pilot to be able to lockup the brakes unless the weight of the airplane had not completely transferred from the wings to the landing gear. At 1717 an automated weather facility located at the airport recorded the following: wind 010 degrees magnetic at 8 knots, 10 miles of visibility, 800 overcast, temperature 64 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 62 degrees Fahrenheit, and an altimeter of 30.02 inches of mercury. In the National Transportation Safety Board form (6120.1/2,) the pilot reported the wind was 360 degrees at 6 knots. Once in the terminal area, the pilot was vectored to the final approach course for the GPS-A approach. The airplane entered visual meteorological conditions between 800 and 1,000 feet agl. Once clear of the clouds, the pilot executed a circle-to-land to the 3,000-foot long runway. The airplane touched down with a 6 to 8 knot right quartering tailwind, approximately 300 to 400 feet past the landing threshold with full flaps. During rollout, the pilot used the brakes, and the airplane decelerated to approximately 10 knots, noticing nothing unusual. The pilot planned to use the taxiway located at the end of the runway. He applied the right brake to exit onto the taxiway, but did not feel the airplane respond. He then applied both brakes. The airplane decelerated, but there was insufficient runway remaining to stop. The airplane departed the end runway, the right wing struck the ground, and the airplane came to a stop. No preimpact failures or malfunctions were identified with the airplane or any of its systems. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12