Runway excursion involving a Cessna U206G, VH-UPK, Bencubbin (ALA), Western Australia, on 20 January 1997

The crew were having problems with the survey equipment, so they decided to land at Bencubbin to investigate. The wind was from the west at 20 kts with gusts to 35 kts. The landing strip at Bencubbin is aligned 160/340 degrees. It slopes up to the north, is 970 m long with a gravel surface and power lines on both approaches. Field elevation is 1000 ft.

After conducting an airborne inspection of the strip, the pilot decided to land into the north. Because of the crosswind he decided to use 10 degrees of flap for the landing. The pilot reported that the first 100 m of strip was overflown due to its (unsuitable) surface condition. As the aircraft touched down, at approximately 80 kts, it was hit by a wind gust from behind, which resulted in a heavy touchdown and subsequent bounce.

The pilot immediately initiated a go-around but with the loss of airspeed associated with the initial bounce and an increasing tailwind component, the aircraft continued to run along the upsloping gravel surface. The go-around attempt was then abandoned in consideration of the powerlines off the end of the strip. The pilot was unable to stop the aircraft overrunning the end of the strip where it finally came to rest in adjoining scrub, substantially damaged.