LAX05CA059 · Cessna 441

The airplane encountered muddy terrain and collapsed the nose landing gear during a landing overrun. The pilot reported that as he approached his destination he prepared for an instrument approach to the airport. The pilot descended via the approach to an altitude of about 800 feet, at which point he was able to identify the runway environment and transition to a visual approach. Throughout the approach, the pilot reported encountering moderate rain and restricted visibility. The airplane's speed during the approach was about 120 knots, varying slightly with configuration changes required during descents and transitions to level flight. During landing, the airplane touched down hard, about halfway down the 4,995-foot-long runway, and bounced twice. The pilot reported that once established in the landing rollout, he applied full brakes and configured the propellers in full reverse thrust, attempting to stop before the end of the runway. The pilot said that although the runway was absent of noticeable standing water, the moderate rain and wet conditions hindered braking effectiveness. The airplane continued off the runway and impacted terrain resulting in the collapse of the nose gear. The pilot was unable to remember the speed at which the airplane touched, but opined that it was about 100 knots, the normal touchdown speed for the airplane. The Airplane Flying Handbook states that "hydroplaning can have serious adverse effects on ground controllability and braking efficiency" and recommends that "touchdown speed should be as slow as possible consistent with safety."

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset