| Crash location | 31.242777°N, 82.390555°W |
| Nearest city | Waycross, GA
31.213551°N, 82.354018°W 3.0 miles away |
| Tail number | N89255 |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 01 Sep 2004 |
| Aircraft type | Cessna 152 |
| Additional details: | None |
On September 1, 2004, at 0934 eastern daylight time a Cessna 152, N89255, registered to and operated by a private pilot collided with a fence at a private strip in Waycross, Georgia. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with visual flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the pilot was not injured. The flight departed Fernandina Beach, Florida on September 1, 2004, at 0845.
During a telephone conversation with the pilot, he stated that he was not aware of the wet runway condition on the grass/sod runway prior to arriving at his destination airport. The pilot further stated that the active runway was 020, and the grass/sod surface was about 3000 feet long and 200 feet wide. The pilot also said, because of the 150-foot tall trees on the approach end of the runway, he established a steeper approach angle and faster approach speed then the normal profile for touchdown. According to the pilot the airplane touched down about 500 feet beyond the approach end of the runway. After landing the pilot recalled that airplane braking was not effective, and stated that the airplane began to "hydroplane", and he was not able to stop the airplane. The airplane continued off the departure end of the sod runway collided with a fence, and came to rest on Brunswick Highway in Waycross.
Examination of the airplane revealed the fuselage was buckled. The left and right wing assemblies were buckled along the leading edge of the wings. The firewall was buckled and nose wheel assembly was bent aft. The pilot reported no mechanical problems with the airplane during the flight. Performance data for the Cessna 150 disclosed that the airplane requires approximately 1,075 feet of runway with a 445-foot landing ground roll when landing over a 50-foot object.
The pilot misjudged the approach speed to touchdown, and the hydroplaning of the airplane during the landing roll resulted in the overrun of the runway surface and the subsequent collision with a fence. .