Runway excursion involving Cessna T210, VH-DQI

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Runway excursion involving Cessna T210, VH-DQI Cape Leveque Western Australia, 30 December 2012 ATSB Transport Safety Report Aviation Occurrence Investigation AO-2013-001 Final – 21 March 2013 Released in accordance with section 25 of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 Publishing information Published by: Australian Transport Safety Bureau Postal address: PO Box 967, Civic Square ACT 2608 Office: 62 Northbourne Avenue Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601 Telephone: 1800 020 616, from overseas +61 2 6257 4150 (24 hours) Accident and incident notification: 1800 011 034 (24 hours) Facsimile: 02 6247 3117, from overseas +61 2 6247 3117 Email: atsbinfo@atsb.gov.au Internet: www.atsb.gov.au © Commonwealth of Australia 2013 Ownership of intellectual property rights in this publication Unless otherwise noted, copyright (and any other intellectual property rights, if any) in this publication is owned by the Commonwealth of Australia. 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Where you want to use their material you will need to contact them directly. › 1 ‹ ATSB – AO-2013-001 VH-DQI Source: Pilot Runway excursion involving Cessna T210, VH-DQI What happened On 30 December 2012, a Cessna 210 aircraft registered VH- DQI (DQI), was one of two aircraft being used to conduct scenic flights from Broome to Cape Leveque, Western Australia. On board DQI were the pilot and five passengers. DQI was the first aircraft to land at Cape Leveque and reported an uneventful landing on runway 13. After backtracking to park near the runway threshold, the passengers disembarked for a scenic tour. During the 3 hours the passengers were away, the pilot allocated time to re-check the aircraft for the return flight to Broome. At about 1125 Western Standard Time1, DQI was the first aircraft to depart. Early in the take-off run on runway 13, at a speed of about 20 knots, DQI veered to the left. The pilot applied right rudder to straighten the aircraft and continued with the takeoff. DQI was now about 1 m left of the runway centreline. About half way down the runway and at about 45 knots, DQI veered sharply to the left again. The pilot tried to correct the veer with full right rudder, but the aircraft did not respond. He then retarded the throttle and applied the brakes. The left wing of the aircraft clipped trees along the edge of the airstrip and DQI swung almost 90o, striking the right wing on the ground. The nose-wheel collapsed in the soft sand on the edge of the airstrip, resulting in the propeller striking the ground. The pilot ensured the aircraft was safely shut down, and then assisted the passengers. One passenger received minor injuries and the aircraft sustained substantial damage. Cape Leveque Aerodrome Cape Leveque is an unlicenced airfield. Runway directions are 13/31 and the strip is compacted soil, 972 m long and 40 m wide.2 Aerodrome serviceability and local weather was checked daily by the local tourist operator staff. This information was then emailed to the aircraft operator in Broome. If the strip was unserviceable, a non-serviceable marker (white cross on the ground) was placed at the windsock. On the day of the accident, the operator reported that the airstrip was deemed operational, and no warnings were issued. Weather On the morning of the accident, there had been an early rain shower. The pilot reported that there had been rain in the area for the last few days. At the time of the accident, the weather was fine with a light easterly wind. PIC comments The pilot had almost 200 hours total time, with about 29 hours on the aircraft type. All his commercial experience had been with the same operator. He had planned the flight and conducted a passenger safety brief covering all appropriate items including aircraft emergency equipment location. 1 Western Standard Time (WST) was Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) + 8.0 hours 2 Information sourced from the National Airfield Directory, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia 2012. › 2 ‹ ATSB – AO-2013-001 Operator Comments It was company policy that all new pilots are checked into Cape Leveque. The training records supplied to the ATSB indicated the pilot had initially been to the airstrip as an observational pilot, followed by almost 20 hours of ICUS3. This was the pilot’s fourth command flight on this aircraft type, and his third as pilot in command to Cape Leveque. After the accident, the pilot of the second aircraft inspected the airstrip and reported substantial washout on the edge of the strip inside the cone markers (Figure 2). Figure 1: Right wing and nose gear damage Figure 2: Washout on edge of airstrip Source: Pilot 3 In command under the supervision of a check pilot › 3 ‹ ATSB – AO-2013-001 Safety action As a result of this occurrence, the aircraft operator has advised the ATSB that they are taking the following safety actions: Aircraft Operator The Chief Pilot has used the occurrence as an educational opportunity for all staff pilots. He re- focussed pilot attention on the following items:  to keep the nosewheel on the centreline of the runway at all times  to use right rudder during takeoff  where possible, to avoid loose dirt and rough areas on the side of the runway