POINT LAY, AK, USA
N811E
DOUGLAS C-54GDC
THE CAPTAIN STATED THERE WERE NO RUNWAY CONDITION REPORTS AND A LOCAL CONTACT STATED THE RUNWAY WAS IN GOOD CONDITION. THEY LANDED AND THE BRAKING ACTION WAS NIL. THE CAPTAIN MANEUVERED THE AIRPLANE TO A DRY PATCH OF DIRT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY. WHEN THE MAIN GEAR ROLLED ONTO THE DRY PATCH THE AIRPLANE VEERED SHARPLY TO THE LEFT AND DEPARTED THE RUNWAY. BOTH CREWMEMBERS STATED A GO AROUND WAS NOT POSSIBLE. ACCORDING TO LANDING PERFORMANCE CHARTS, THE MINIMUM LANDING RUNWAY LENGTH WAS 4500 FEET ON A DRY HARD SURFACE RUNWAY. THE ACTUAL RUNWAY LENGTH WAS 3500 FEET.
On October 8, 1993, at 1735 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Douglas, C54GDC airplane, N811E, registered to and operated by Brooks Fuel of Fairbanks, Alaska, veered off the left side of the runway after landing at Point Lay, Alaska. The business flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, departed Fairbanks, Alaska, with a cargo of unleaded automotive fuel, and the destination was Point Lay. A company flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the Pilot-in-Command, Co-Pilot, and the passenger were not injured. According to the Pilot in Command, there was no runway condition report so they called someone locally at Point Lay and were told that the runway was in good condition. The Captain stated that he applied brakes upon landing and there was some slight braking. As the airplane proceeded down the runway, braking became nil. The Captain attempted to maneuver the airplane toward the left side of the runway onto a visible strip of dirt. The left main gear caught on the dirt and veered the airplane off the left side of the runway. According to the First Officer they touched down on the end of the ruwnay and the Captain had braking. Shortly there after braking was nil and he said that when the left main gear finally rolled onto the dirt near the left edge of the runway, the airplane made a sharp left turn and left the runway. Both crewmembers stated that the airplane had progressed far enough down the runway so that a successful go around was impossible. According to the Alaska Supplement the runway at Point Lay is 3500 feet long and has a field elevation of 20 feet above mean sea level. With the outside air temperature reported as 38 degrees fahrenheit, the density altitude was approximately 19.5 feet. According to the Captian, the landing weight of the airplane was 63,040 pounds. According to information provided by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation, for a charted gross weight of 63,500 pounds, at sea level, using wing flaps 50, a coefficient of friction of .05 (slippery surface), the landing distance over a 50 foot obstacle listed is 4700 feet. According to the Douglas Aircraft landing performance chart, the minimum effective landing runway length for a dry hard surface was 4500 feet. A distance of 1000 feet greater than the actual landing length of the runway. Both crewmembers also stated that they had a threshold speed of 94 knots and a touchdwon speed of 87 knots. Douglas Aircraft information shows that the airplane should glide at 110 knots and land at 99 knots.
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S FAILURE TO PERFORM PROPER PREFLIGHT PLANNING BY NOT COMPUTING THE REQUIRED LANDING RUNWAY LENGTH.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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