According to the pilot, during the landing on a grassy area that was parallel to the paved
runway, the airplane touched down and impacted a ditch near an intersecting taxiway. The
airplane became airborne, touched down on the other side of the intersecting taxiway, bounced
again, and then landed hard on the nose gear, which resulted in substantial damage to the
fuselage and subsequent collapse of the nose landing gear. In a telephone interview, the pilot
stated that the ditch was about 200 feet from his initial touchdown point and that he regularly
lands on the grass, in the opposite direction, in order to minimize the wear on the main landing
gear tires. No preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures were noted with the airplane
that would have precluded normal operation.
C-208 Non-Fatal Raeford, NC August 18, 2012
According to the pilot, during the landing on a grassy area that was parallel to the paved
runway, the airplane touched down and impacted a ditch near an intersecting taxiway. The
airplane became airborne, touched down on the other side of the intersecting taxiway, bounced
again, and then landed hard on the nose gear, which resulted in substantial damage to the
fuselage and subsequent collapse of the nose landing gear. In a telephone interview, the pilot
stated that the ditch was about 200 feet from his initial touchdown point and that he regularly
lands on the grass, in the opposite direction, in order to minimize the wear on the main landing
gear tires. No preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures were noted with the airplane
that would have precluded normal operation.