Ralph Wien Memorial Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kotzebue, Alaska 99752
Thursday, February 14, 2002 14:00 AST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the base to final leg of the circle to land approach, the pilot overshot the centerline of the runway. On short final and at a low altitude, the pilot still had not attained alignment with the centerline of the runway. The pilot made a left turn, and then a right turn, attempting to align the airplane with the runway. During the right turn, he dragged the right wing on the snow-covered ground, damaging the outboard leading-edge slat.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's decision to continue an unstabalized approach to landing. A factor associated with the accident is the pilot's failure to attain proper alignment with the runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/14/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Atlantic Standard Time
Event City Kotzebue
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99752
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 665308N
Event Location Longitude 1623555W
Event Location Airport Ralph Wien Memorial
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OTZ
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 11
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2100
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 3
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.27
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Light
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 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11702
NTSB Notification Source FAA ANC, ROC
NTSB Notification Date Feb 15 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1014
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 FSDO-01

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N190AJ
NTSB Number ANC02LA015
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Boeing
Aircraft Model 727-100
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18878
Certified Max Gross Weight 170000
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 3
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Feb 2 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 41
Airframe Hours 74093
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name NORTHERN AIR CARGO INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3900 W. International Airport Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Anchorage
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99502
Operator is an individual? No
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 NACA
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code PAFA
Departure City Fairbanks
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone DT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PAOT
Destination City Kotzebue
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record May 1 2002 5:17PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 08
Runway Length 5900
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --