N5949E

On September 28, 1995, approximately 1600 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 182R, N5949E, registered to Felts Field Aviation, Inc., overran the landing surface at Felts Field, Spokane, Washington. As the airplane taxied back for a subsequent takeoff, the Felts Field air traffic control tower (ATCT) observed elevator damage to the airplane and reported this observation to the crew. Further inspection revealed structural damage to the elevator spar tip. Neither of the two occupants, both airline transport pilots, were injured in the landing overrun. The flight was a local flight from Felts Field and was being operated under 14 CFR 91. Visual meteorological conditions, with light rain, prevailed and no flight plan had been filed.

The flight crew consisted of Felts Field Aviation's chief pilot, flying the airplane from the left seat, and Felts Field Aviation's director of operations in the right seat. Both pilots indicated that they had just completed a satisfactory 14 CFR 135 pilot proficiency check on the pilot and decided to perform additional landing practice after completing the check. They stated that, at the right-seat pilot's suggestion, the first pattern after the check was flown as a tight, flaps-up pattern to runway 3R (3,059 feet long, asphalt) with a full forward slip. The pilots indicated that the pilot's approach was at an excessive speed (90 knots in the base-to-final turn according to the right-seat pilot) and high. They stated that as the airplane crossed the landing threshold, the pilot said, "We may be going around." However, the pilot then continued the approach, touching down approximately halfway down the runway in what the pilot described as a "firm but good" touchdown. Both pilots stated that there was standing water on the runway and that the aircraft hydroplaned during the landing roll. The airplane subsequently overran the landing surface by "approximately 40 yards" (according to the left-seat pilot) onto a level grass overrun. The right-seat pilot stated that just before departing the paved surface, the airplane experienced a significant vibration or shudder, but that the airplane did not hit anything nor were there any obstacles at or beyond the end of the runway prior to stopping. Both pilots stated that they were surprised when they discovered the damage to the airplane after the landing.

The fractured elevator tip was sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C., for metallurgical analysis. The metallurgist's factual report on the examination reported: "The elevator separated just outboard of the outboard hinge....The directions of the spar deformation were consistent with the portion of the elevator with the tip weight moving down and outboard relative to the remainder of the elevator....Detailed visual examination of the separations...showed no evidence of preexisting fractures or weakened areas. All fractures were consistent with overstress separations."

The fractured elevator tip was subsequently sent to Cessna Aircraft of Wichita, Kansas, for further examination under the supervision of the FAA. Following this examination, in a telephone report of the examination to the NTSB investigator-in- charge (IIC), a Cessna air safety investigator concurred with the findings of the NTSB lab that all fractures were consistent with overstress separations. He stated that the FAA flight standards district office (FSDO) in Spokane, Washington, which had forwarded the fractured elevator tip to Cessna at the direction of the NTSB IIC, had provided additional photographs with the part. The Cessna investigator forwarded photographs to the NTSB IIC which he stated were copies of the photographs provided by the Spokane FSDO. These photographs showed damage to the right elevator as well as to both of the airplane's main landing gear struts. In these photographs, the bottom of the right elevator spar was fractured at a 45 degree angle and the top of the elevator spar was buckled downward. The upper elevator skin was also bent in an upward direction with one upper skin section being bent upward about 90 degrees.