Sunriver Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sunriver, Oregon 97702
Saturday, December 29, 2001 1:55 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he missed the first approach into the airstrip, however, he landed on the second attempt. After touchdown, the aircraft veered left despite the pilot's corrective control inputs, and collided with a snow bank 1/3 of the way down the runway. The pilot reported that the wind remained calm at the time of the accident. The runway surface was reported to be icy, and some runway lights were obscured by snow. There was no report of a mechanical failure or malfunction with the aircraft at the time.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll. An icy runway and a snow bank were factors.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/29/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 155
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Sunriver
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97702
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 435234N
Event Location Longitude 1212711W
Event Location Airport Sunriver
Event Location Nearest Airport ID S21
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 4164
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 156 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID RDM
Elevation of weather observation facility 3077
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 26
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Night/Bright
Lowest Ceiling Height 100
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0.2
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -5
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.96
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11784
NTSB Notification Source FAA Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Dec 29 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 400
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2002 12:16PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Hillsboro, Oregon

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N852AL
NTSB Number SEA02LA029
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Pilatus
Aircraft Model PC-12
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 213
Certified Max Gross Weight 9921
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 5
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Dec 25 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 4.5
Airframe Hours 1068.3
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name St. Charles Medical Center
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2500 NE Neff Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Bend
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97701
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Air Methods
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 7301 S. Peoria St.
Operator City Englewood
Operator State CO
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 80112
Operator Code QMLA
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code PDX
Departure City Portland
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code S21
Destination City Sunriver
Destination State --
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 18 2002 5:23PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 5455
Runway Width 70
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --