Haines Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Haines, Alaska 99827
Thursday, April 22, 1999 18:10 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The private pilot was landing the amphibious float plane on runway 08. The runway was wet, and winds were reported to be 070 degrees at 20 knots, gusting to 29 knots. The pilot told the NTSB IIC, and the FAA, that he was aware that strong 90 degree left crosswinds occur near the center of the runway during these conditions. He described using a large amount of left aileron during final approach due to the left crosswind, and intentionally landed on the left side of the 100 feet wide runway, anticipating strong gusts. The pilot said the initial landing roll felt normal, and the airplane drifted to the right during rollout. He said that as the airplane slowed, a strong left gust lifted the left wing, and the airplane departed the right side of the runway. The pilot said he did not recall any preaccident anomalies with the airplane. An air taxi pilot who departed the airport about 40 minutes earlier, reported telling the accident pilot in flight that the winds were '20 to 25 knots with gusts to at least 30. Direct crosswind from the left and that it was pretty nasty.' The pilot responded, 'doesn't sound too good.' The accident pilot had accumulated about 40 total hours of amphibious experience, all in the accident airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusty crosswind conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/22/1999
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1810
Event Time Zone --
Event City HAINES
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99827
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport HAINES
Event Location Nearest Airport ID HNS
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 16
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1754 Atlantic Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID HNS
Elevation of weather observation facility 16
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation ADT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1700
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1200
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 70
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 20
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 29
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Light
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 175
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 22 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1930
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Apr 20 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3539F
NTSB Number ANC99LA049
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 185E
Aircraft Series Identifier 185E
Aircraft Serial Number 185-1439
Certified Max Gross Weight 3300
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection 7
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name NORTHSTAR AVIATION, LLC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 224 4TH STREET
Aircraft Owner City JUNEAU
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99801
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code JNU
Departure City JUNEAU
Departure State AK
Departure Country
Departure Time 1715
Departure Time Zone ADT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code HNS
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 20 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 8
Runway Length 4000
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --