Landing / Ground Loss of Control · NTSB CEN23LA423
BEECH A36 — Broken Bow, OK
| Date | September 29, 2023 |
| Location | Broken Bow, OK |
| Aircraft | BEECH A36 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Landing-flare/touchdown Abrupt maneuver |
| Pilot age | 70 |
| Pilot total time | 1,430 hrs · Experienced |
| Time in type | 820 hrs |
| Fatalities | 0 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Identification/recognition-Pilot
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
- Environmental issues-Operating environment-Airport facilities/design-Airport communication-Availability of related info
What happened
While on approach to land, the pilot watched for tractors that were bailing hay. During the landing flare, the pilot saw an airport grounds worker mowing the grass next to the right side of the runway. He attempted to avoid the worker by pulling back on the control yoke. The airplane drifted to the right, touched down, and the right wing struck the worker, who was fatally injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing.
The worker was mowing along the edge of runway, which was 50 ft. wide. The wingspan of the airplane was 33 ft 6 inches; therefore, the centerline of the airplane would have to have been at least 8 ft 3 inches to the right of the runway centerline to place the right wingtip directly over the runway edge.
The pilot did not adequately compensate for the crosswind during landing, and the airplane was not aligned with the runway centerline during landing and landing roll, which resulted in the airplane striking the grounds worker.
According to the airport manager, the worker was not scheduled to be mowing at the airport on the day of the accident, and he was unaware that she elected to begin mowing at the airport. He was also unaware that Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) should be issued, and no NOTAM had been issued for the mowing or hay bailing operations being conducted at the airport.