Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Cessna 207A Stationair 7, Hageland Aviation Services, Inc., dba ERA Alaska, N6314H: Accident occurred November 07, 2011 in Kwigillingok, Alaska


NTSB Identification: ANC12LA002  
Scheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Monday, November 07, 2011 in Kwigillingok, AK
Probable Cause Approval Date: 11/26/2012
Aircraft: CESSNA 207A, registration: N6314H
Injuries: 3 Minor,3 Uninjured.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The pilot departed on a scheduled commuter flight at night from an unlit, rough and uneven snow-covered runway with five passengers and baggage. During the takeoff roll, the airplane bounced twice and became airborne, but it failed to climb. As the airplane neared the departure end of the runway, it began to veer to the left, and the pilot applied full right aileron, but the airplane continued to the left as it passed over the runway threshold. The airplane subsequently settled into an area of snow and tundra-covered terrain about 100 yards south of the runway threshold and nosed over.

Official sunset on the day of the accident was 48 minutes before the accident, and the end of civil twilight was one minute before the accident. The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Airport/Facility Directory, Alaska Supplement listing for the airport, includes the following notation: "Airport Remarks - Unattended. Night operations prohibited, except rotary wing aircraft. Runway condition not monitored, recommend visual inspection prior to using. Safety areas eroded and soft. Windsock unreliable." A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

Given the lack of mechanical deficiencies with the airplane's engine or flight controls, it is likely the pilot failed to maintain control during the takeoff roll and initial climb after takeoff.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot's failure to abort the takeoff when he realized the airplane could not attain sufficient takeoff and climb performance and his improper decision to depart from an airport where night operations were prohibited.

On November 7, 2011, about 1830 Alaska standard time (AST), a Cessna 207 airplane, N6314H, sustained substantial damage during a collision with snow-covered terrain following a loss of control shortly after takeoff from Runway 15 at the Kwigillingok Airport, Kwigillingok, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as Flight 166, by Hageland Aviation Services, Inc., dba ERA Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska, as a visual flight rules (VFR) scheduled commuter flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135. Of the six people aboard, the commercial pilot and two passengers were not injured, and three passengers sustained minor injuries. Night, visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed, and VFR company flight following procedures were in effect. Flight 166 originated in Bethel, Alaska, and it had completed scheduled stops in Kongiganak, Alaska, and Kwigillingok. The accident occurred while returning to Bethel, the flight's final destination for the day.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on November 8, the pilot reported that before departing on Runway 15, an unlighted, rough and uneven 1,840 foot-long, by 30 foot-wide snow-covered runway, he checked the airport windsock, and noted that a correction for a 5 to 10 knot left quartering crosswind would be required. He said that during the takeoff roll, the airplane bounced twice and became airborne, but it failed to climb. As the airplane neared the departure end of the runway, it began to veer to the left. The pilot said he applied full right aileron to correct the veer, but the airplane continued to the left as it passed over the runway threshold. He said that once he knew the airplane was not going to climb, he lowered the flaps in an attempt to cushion the off-airport landing. The airplane subsequently settled into an area of snow, and tundra-covered terrain, about 100 yards south of the runway threshold, and nosed over.

Sunset on the day of the accident was 1742; the end of civil twilight was 1829.

The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Airport/Facility Directory, Alaska Supplement listing for the Kwigillingok Airport, includes the following notation: "Airport Remarks - Unattended. Night operations prohibited, except rotary wing aircraft. Runway condition not monitored, recommend visual inspection prior to using. Safety areas eroded and soft. Windsock unreliable."

In the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1) submitted by the operator, the pilot's total aeronautical experience was listed as 1,833 hours, with 349 hours in the accident airplane make and model. The report noted that in the preceding 90 and 30 days prior to the accident, the pilot accrued a total of 390 hours and 107 hours.

According to the operator's chief pilot, the estimated gross weight of the airplane at takeoff was 3,680 pounds, or approximately 120 pounds below the maximum takeoff gross weight of 3,800 pounds.

The closest weather reporting facility was the Kipnuk Airport, Kipnuk, Alaska, about 26 miles west of the accident site. At 1856, an Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) was reporting, in part: Wind, 010 degrees (true) at 4 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles.; clouds and sky condition, clear; temperature, 19 degrees F; dew point, 18 degrees F; altimeter, 30.14 inches Hg.

A pilot flying a Cessna 208 that departed about 30 minutes before the accident airplane departed, reported wind to be from the east-southeast, at 10 knots, but favoring Runway 15.

The wreckage was recovered from the accident site and transported to Alaska Claims Services, Inc., in Wasilla, Alaska.

On January 26, 2012, a wreckage examination and layout was done under the direction of the NTSB IIC. Also present were air safety investigators from Continental Motors, Cessna Aircraft, the FAA, and the director of safety for Hageland Aviation Services. There were no preaccident mechanical problems discovered with the airplane's engine or flight controls.


IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 6314H        Make/Model: C207      Description: 207 (Turbo)Skywagon 207, (Turbo)Stationa
  Date: 11/08/2011     Time: 0330

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Minor     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Substantial

LOCATION
  City: KWIGILLINGOK   State: AK   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  HAGELAND AVIATION N6314H CESSNA 207 AIRCRAFT CRASHED ON TAKEOFF, THERE WERE 
  6 PERSONS ON BOARD WITH MINOR INJURIES, KWIGILLINGOK, AK

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   1     Unk:    
                 # Pass:   5     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   5     Unk:    
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    


OTHER DATA
  Activity: Business      Phase: Take-off      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: ANCHORAGE, AK  (AL03)                 Entry date: 11/08/2011 


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A flight full of passengers was fortunate to walk away after a commercial plane in Kwigillingok flipped over.

The Cessna 207 Skywagon operated by Hageland-Era Aviation had five passengers on board and one pilot when it crashed on takeoff Wednesday afternoon in the Kuskokwim coastal village.

According to KTUU, witnesses from the village say the plane banked left after take-off and then went down. They say it bounced on a frozen lake and then flipped onto it’s back.

The occupants walked away from the crash, but a health aide working at the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation told KYUK that they were treated at the village clinic there in the village. The Federal Aviation Administration reports that all of them had minor injuries. They add that damage to the plane was substantial.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will continue to investigate the cause of the accident.