Crash of a Piper PA-31-325 Navajo in Jeffersonville

Date & Time: Sep 20, 2000 at 1930 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
N63706
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Elizabethtown - Jeffersonville
MSN:
31-7712035
YOM:
1977
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
2117
Captain / Total hours on type:
889.00
Aircraft flight hours:
3910
Circumstances:
The pilot said that he 'landed properly' on the runway, touching down at about 700 feet from the approach end. He said that he 'applied brakes, which had no effect, ran out of runway, and turned to the right to avoid trees. [The] Grassy field should have worked out, except for the drainage ditch.' The pilot said that later he was told that there was a tail wind estimated at 45 knots, when he landed. Examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies. Approximately 34 minutes before the accident, the weather observation at Louisville, Kentucky, 11 miles south of the accident site, reported winds of 320 degrees at 16 knots, with gusts to 20 knots.
Probable cause:
The pilot's inadequate normal braking and the pilot's inability to stop the airplane on the runway. Factors relating to this accident were the hydroplaning conditions, wet runway, the tailwind, the trees, and the ravine.
Final Report: