Middle Hero Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Grand Isle, Vermont 05458
Saturday, January 28, 2012 10:45 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that before departing for a private airport, he called the owner of the airport to inquire about the condition of the turf runway. The owner reported that the runway appeared to be "okay." Upon reaching the destination airport, the pilot conducted two approaches to the runway that were "steeper and faster" than he desired, and he aborted both landing attempts. On the third approach, the airplane touched down about 500 feet from the runway threshold. After touchdown, the pilot realized that he had little braking effectiveness and was unable to stop the airplane. The airplane traveled off the departure end of the runway and impacted trees, resulting in substantial damage to both the left and right wings. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any mechanical malfunctions or failures. The pilot and a Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that, although the grass on the runway appeared normal from the air, there was a layer of ice underneath due to rain and below-freezing temperatures for several days prior to the accident, resulting in slick runway conditions.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inability to stop the airplane on a grass runway with undetected ice.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/28/2012
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1045
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Grand Isle
Event State VERMONT
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 05458
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 444516N
Event Location Longitude 0731626W
Event Location Airport Middle Hero
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 150
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1053 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 234
Weather Observation Facility ID PBG
Elevation of weather observation facility 234
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 11
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 11000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.91
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 29918
NTSB Notification Source Private Citizen
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 20 2012 6:23PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N811P
NTSB Number ERA12CA162
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 172L
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17260298
Certified Max Gross Weight 2300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 13 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 10270
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name CHAMPLAIN ISLAND HOPPERS INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City South Burlington
Aircraft Owner State VT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 05446-9615
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name CHAMPLAIN ISLAND HOPPERS INC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City South Burlington
Operator State VT
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 05446-9615
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code BTV
Departure City Burlington
Departure State VT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1010
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 29VT
Destination City Grand Isle
Destination State VT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 22 2012 12:07PM
User who most recently changed record gots
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 01
Runway Length 2000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --