Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
THE PILOT'S LOSS OF DIRECTIONAL CONTROL DURING LANDING, RESULTING IN A DEPARTURE FROM THE RUNWAY AND THE SUBSEQUENT ENCOUNTER WITH SOFT TERRAIN AND COLLAPSE OF THE NOSE GEAR. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE ICY RUNWAY CONDITIONS.
Aircraft Information
Analysis
On Monday, January 3, 1994, at 1927 eastern standard time, a Swearingen SA-226T, N999MM, registered to Planned Residential Communities, Inc., and piloted by Joseph Genna, sustained substantial damage during a landing at the Cuyahoga County Airport, Richmond Heights, Ohio. The pilot and passenger were not injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an IFR flight plan had been filed. The flight was being conducted under 14 CFR 91.
The pilot stated that he was advised by the control tower that the runway was icy and covered with snow, but that it had been sanded. He said that he saw runway 05 approximately 2 miles from touchdown. He stated, "Everything looked good to me at touchdown. [I] went to flight idle [and] at this time the [airplane] went to the left very rapidly." He tried to correct the left drift of the airplane, but he was unable to maintain the airplane on the runway. It departed the left side of the runway. The nose gear collapsed when the airplane collided with soft snow and terrain.
The pilot reported that the winds were from 060 degrees at 10 knots.
Mr. Robert Taylor, Principal Maintenance Inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration, examined the wreckage on January 4, 1994. In his report, Mr Taylor stated, "[The] nose section was buckled from the nose cone to the pressure bulkhead....The...bulkhead was badly buckled."
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# NYC94LA046