Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to stop his airplane before it departed the end of the unimproved remote airstrip.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot was part of a five-airplane group that was landing at a series of unimproved remote airstrips. When they arrived at the third airstrip, three airplanes made successful landings, but the accident pilot, who was in an airplane with slightly different performance characteristics than the other three, was unable to stop before running off the end of the runway and impacting a ditch. After the accident, the pilot, who had not been into the subject airstrip before, stated that he should have made a better decision, and not assumed that because the other three pilots made it successfully that he could too.
Source record
Factual narrative
The pilot was part of a five-airplane group that was landing at a series of unimproved remote airstrips. When they arrived at the third airstrip, three airplanes made successful landings, but the accident pilot, who was in an airplane with slightly different performance characteristics than the other three, was unable to stop before running off the end of the runway and impacting a ditch. Contributing to the excursion was the airplane bouncing off a bump during the landing roll, which momentarily compromised the pilot's braking actions. After the accident, the pilot, who had not been into the subject airstrip before, stated that he should have made a better decision, and not assumed that because the other three pilots made it successfully that he could too.