VOLUNTOWN, CT, USA
N6553E
CESSNA 172N
DUE TO DETERIORATING WEATHER CONDITIONS, THE PILOT ELECTED TO MAKE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING ON A 2520 FOOT LONG RUNWAY WITH A 625 FOOT DISPLACED THRESHOLD DUE TO TREES. THE PILOT SAID HE TOUCHED DOWN 500 FEET DOWN THE RUNWAY AND BOUNCED 5 TO 6 TIMES, PULLED THE FLAPS UP, AND SKIDDED OFF THE RUNWAY. THE FAA SAID THE PILOT LANDED LONG, WITH A TAILWIND, AND RAN OFF THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY.
On Sunday, June 27, 1993, at 1723 eastern daylight time, a Cessna, N6553E, owned and operated by Charlie R. Jones, of Fall River, Massachusetts, overran the departure end of runway 29 while landing at Lakeside Airport, Voluntown, Connecticut. The airplane received substantial damage. The pilot received minor injuries and the passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight operating under 14 CFR 91. The pilot received a weather briefing from Altoona Flight Service Station prior to departure from Gaithersburg. The briefing included an advisory for low clouds, reduced visibility, and the admonition, "VFR flight not recommended once you get up around Long Island, New York. The instrument rated pilot acknowledged this and said he could file IFR if needed. He departed without filing a flight plan. En route he encountered the forecast weather and due to low clouds elected to make a precautionary landing at Lakeside Airport, Griswold, Connecticut. In the NTSB Accident Report, the pilot stated: ...forty miles from PVD[Providence, Rhode Island], clouds were getting low. I passed over 5B4 Lakeside 2500' Runways and came back to land. It looked like no problem. I did a full approach, down wind, Base, and final. On final wind blew against me wrong and would not allow me to touch down at threshold. Touched at 500'[feet] and bounced 5-6 times. I pulled the flaps up and skidded off the runway. FAA Inspector Vincent Stachowitz, from the Windsor Locks Flight Standards District Office stated: ...During landing at Lakeside Airport (5B4). Landed with a tail wind and landed long. Touching down at the far end of runway 29. Didn't have enough R/W[runway] left to come to a complete stop. He continued off the runway into a wooded area where the aircraft came to rest. According to the Airport/Facility Directory, runway 29 is 2520 feet long, 50 feet wide, and has an asphalt surface. There is a note for runway 29 which states, "Thld dsplcd 625'. Trees". [The landing threshold is displaced 625 feet.].
The pilot's failure to achieve the proper touchdown point which resulted in an overrun of the runway and collision with trees. A factor is the pilot's improper compensation for the wind condition.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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