Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Cedar City Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Cedar City, Utah 84720
Sunday, March 16, 2003 22:45 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The captain reported they coordinated with ATC to expedite their takeoff due to the poor weather conditions. Following de-icing, the crew taxied the airplane from the ramp to the runway and began their takeoff roll. The captain said that everything was fine initially. When the airplane passed the 7,000 foot remaining marker, it began tracking left. The captain said he tried to correct the situation with rudder and differential power, but the airplane continued to track left. The captain said, "I lost control of the situation when the left mains got into the soft earth at the edge of the runway." The first officer reported that just after they had advanced the power levels forward, the Ice Condition light illuminated. The first officer notified the captain. The first officer stated that the airplane was pulling to the left. The first officer said the captain was attempting to correct the condition when the airplane pulled hard left. The airplane was straddling the runway lights. The first officer said the captain aborted the takeoff. The first officer said that with braking, they slid off the runway and slowly spun to the left leaving the airplane facing east when it stopped. The airport manager reported that at the time of the incident, the runway was covered with 1 to 1-1/2 inches of snow and slush. An examination of the airplane's tire tracks in the snow showed the airplane began its takeoff roll to the left of the runway centerline. The tracks proceeded further left of centerline as they proceeded down the runway until they were off the left side of the runway. An examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies. The reported weather at the time of the incident was ceilings 400 feet broken, 1,100 feet overcast, visibility 1/2 mile, snow and fog, temperature and dew point 32 degrees F, and an altimeter setting of 29.59 inches of Mercury.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the captain's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff. Factors contributing to the accident were the crew's diverted attention, the snow and slush-covered runway, the fog, and the runway marker.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 3/16/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 2245 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Cedar City |
| Event State | UTAH |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 84720 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 374204N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1130530W |
| Event Location Airport | Cedar City Regional Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | CDC |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.024 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 200 |
| Airport Elevation | 5622 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 2253 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 20 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | CDC |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 5622 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 400 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 0.5 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 0 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 0 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.59 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 5517 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Moderate |
| 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 | 15 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 17129 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Comm Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 17 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 28 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 27 2005 3:52PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Salt Lake City, Utah FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N214SW |
| NTSB Number | DEN03IA054 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 121: Air Carrier |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Minor |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Embraer |
| Aircraft Model | EMB-120ER |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 120280 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 26433 |
| 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 | 33 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 15 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 24773.8 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Skywest Airlines, Incorporated |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 444 River Road |
| Aircraft Owner City | St. George |
| Aircraft Owner State | UT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 84770 |
| 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 | SRUA |
| 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 | Scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | CDC |
| Departure City | Cedar City |
| Departure State | UT |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 2245 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | SGU |
| Destination City | St. George |
| Destination State | UT |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - roll/run |
| Report sent to ICAO? | Yes |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 14 2003 12:54PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MCBM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 20 |
| Runway Length | 8653 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |