NTSB Factual Report

On January 14, 2005, at approximately 1000 Pacific standard time, a Cessna U206F, N8313Q, was substantially damaged when it veered off the grass/dirt runway, impacted a mound of dirt, and nosed over while landing at Stuart Island West Airpark (2WA3; elevation 200 feet), Prevost, Washington. The pilot and his two passengers were not injured. West Isle Air was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 135. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that originated at approximately 0945 from Anacortes, Washington. A company VFR flight plan had been filed.

The pilot did a "fly-over" to check out the runway conditions including wind direction and speed. He said that the runway was clear of snow, and there was no indication of ice or frost. The pilot said that the winds in the nearby bay appeared to be 10 knots or less. He said that immediately after touchdown the airplane felt like it had no traction; braking action was poor to none. He said that after several hundred feet of ground roll, he felt a "strong" gust of wind on his tail.

The pilot said that he decided to swerve north of the runway rather than impact the trees on the end of the runway. He impacted a soft mound of dirt which was not initially visible, "thus causing the airplane to slowly nose over." The airplane's left strut was broken, the left wing was bent aft, the engine firewall and chin were crushed, and the aft fuselage was crushed and bent.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot not identifying unsafe landing conditions, and his subsequent intentional swerve during the landing roll resulting in impacting a ditch. Contributing factors were the ice/frost on the grass/dirt one-way runway (1,560 feet in length), the unexpected tail wind gust, and the ditch he encountered after he swerved to avoid going past the end of the runway into trees.