(Last week) LDR > LDA Landing distance required > Landing distance available. Northerly winds (=cross winds), heavy aircraft (full with passenger load), higher approach speed than usual, late touchdown, heavy breaking.... ended up in the sand. No harm, all passengers + pilot safe, airplane OK (except for the nose wheel fairing). Ahhh St Barths airport...... Edited to say: the gendarmes writing a ticket is the best part "Monsieur, le stationnement d'aéronefs est interdit sur la plage de St Jean......" Image Unavailable, Please Login
This reminds me of an incident that I witnessed at an airport near us in the 60's. A Comanche pilot was obviously spooked by the Bellevue Airport and dove at the end of the runway on approach, thinking that it was too short. The overshoot that followed ended him in the garbage dump at the end of the runway. Following this show was a Piaggio Royal Gull that made a nice slow approach and landed with plenty of room. I learned many years later when I was working with him on an illustrated book that it was no less then Ernie Gann in the Gull. Not bragging but simply to make a point, much later I was complimented by another pilot, an ex-Spitfire pilot, with whom I was flying in a Cessna Cardinal, an airplane that I had never flown, when after take off I slowed the airplane down to see how it stalled and what slow flight was like. He said that anybody can fly an airplane fast but it takes a pilot to safely fly one slow. That is exactly what Gann demonstrated with the Gull.
