Koskella LONG EZ N5159P

Summary

On 2 September 1998 at about 14:10 local time, a Koskella LONG EZ registered N5159P was involved in an accident near Cascade, Idaho, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 September 1998 at 14:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Cascade, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Cascade (U70)

Coordinates

44.5899, -115.5692

Aircraft

Koskella LONG EZ

Registration

N5159P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA98LA173

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed on final approach. Factors include inadequate remedial action and erroneous airspeed indications.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot, a Navy test pilot with approximately 1500 hours total flight time in the Long EZ, reported that on short final the aircraft began to settle rapidly and touched down hard approximately 250 feet short of the threshold. He indicated that there was no mechanical malfunction with the aircraft's power plant or systems. However, in his written report, he stated that on short final he 'scanned the instrument panel and noticed the airspeed read 100 mph. (This is way too high to stop a Long EZ on a 4000' runway.) Aircraft attitude seemed normal, approach was at appropriate altitude/lineup, so I reduced power and deployed the speed brake. In my aircraft, the speed brake blows closed at 95 mph from aerodynamic forces-it stayed out. As I mentally started processing the fact that the speed brake did not blow back, I sensed an increase in the rate of descent. I retracted the speed brake, added full power, and eased the nose up-touching down 250' short of the runway.' The pilot also reported that he believed the 'airspeed indicator stuck at 100 mph during final approach.' He stated that 'I'm not sure this could have reasonably been foreseen or prevented; higher approach speed would have prevented the settle that developed on short final, but I would have had to instantly recognize the airspeed indicator error. By the time I recognized an excess rate of descent and initiated a wave-off, it was too late to avoid touching down.'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.