The pilot was attempting to land the Cessna 180 on a private, 950-foot-long turf airstrip near Warrenton, Georgia. The airplane was high during the first two attempts to land, and the pilot initiated a go-around each time.
During the third attempt, the airplane was traveling too fast, and it touched down near the mid-point of the runway and bounced. The airplane then departed the end of the runway and hit trees.
The pilot was seriously injured and the airplane was destroyed.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to attain the proper touchdown point, which resulted in a runway overrun and collision with trees.
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This November 2020 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
May have had a tail-wing, which would caused plane to be high and fast.
Too high, too fast, NO flaps, multiple attempts at short unlit unfamiliar grass field. It’s 3 November at 1700 local time.
My vote: It’s getting dark; he can’t see it; “get-there-itis”….must get it on the ground.
With a reported 500 hours in the aircraft, it looks like he needed some instruction on short field operations, and specifically, operation of this aircraft.
Maybe , also some navigating instruction on using a GPS unit, vs ‘wandering around the sky’ looking for the small airstrip.!?
Maybe practice a little bit more on a longer runway before attempting this? The airplane is perfectly capable of pulling this off – unfortunately the pilot wasn’t..
Yes – hopefully with a cfi who can land a 180 gently but with little to no float per the FAA handbook. In the videos I usually see on short-field landings, the pilot just aims more distance before the touchdown point but still floats a lot. That is not a short-field approach and landing.