Cessna 402 N87266

Summary

On 26 April 2018 at about 21:15 local time, a Cessna 402 registered N87266 was involved in an accident near Barre Plains, Massachusetts, United States. 3 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

26 April 2018 at 21:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Barre Plains, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Tanner-Hiller (8B5)

Coordinates

42.2304, -71.5299

Aircraft

Cessna 402

Registration

N87266

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Barre Plains → Barre Plains

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA136

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper decision to land with a tailwind, which resulted in a touchdown with insufficient runway remaining to stop the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was conducting a local, personal flight. The pilot reported that he checked the weather conditions at three local airports before the flight but stated that he did not trust the wind reports. He added that he did not get a preflight weather briefing. Once at the destination airport, he conducted two go-arounds due to gusting wind conditions. During the third attempted landing, he made a steep approach at a normal approach speed and flared the airplane about midway down the 3,000-ft-long runway. The airplane floated down the runway for much longer than the pilot expected before touching down. Despite applying maximum braking, there was insufficient remaining runway to stop, and the airplane skidded off the runway, impacted trees, and subsequently caught fire, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. The wind conditions reported at an airport located about 13 miles away included a tailwind of 16 knots, gusting to 27 knots. Given the tailwind conditions reported at this airport and the pilot's description of the approach and landing, it is likely that the pilot conducted the approach to the runway in a tailwind that significantly increased the airplane's groundspeed, which resulted in a touchdown with insufficient runway remaining to stop the airplane, even with maximum braking.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.