Goodnews Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Goodnews, Alaska 99589
Saturday, June 28, 2003 11:40 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The captain, the non-flying pilot seated in the right seat, and the first officer, the flying pilot seated in the left seat, were landing a twin engine turboprop airplane at a remote airport at the conclusion of an air taxi flight. The flight was conducted on an IFR flight plan to a nearby airport, and then proceeded VFR, 9.5 miles to the destination airport that has a gravel surface runway, 2,835 feet long and 80 feet wide. The crew reported that a stabilized landing approach was conducted to runway 05 at a reference (REF) airspeed plus 10 knots, with a 5 knot crosswind. The copilot indicated that during the landing, the airplane encountered a severe downdraft and contacted the ground about 100 feet short of the runway threshold. The captain indicated a wind shear of 8 knots was encountered. The closest official weather observation station is located 32 nautical miles south of the accident site. It was reporting, in part: Wind, 180 degrees (true) at 16 knots, gusts to 26 knots. A passenger, who stated he was a meteorologist by training, reported the wind during the landing approach was a direct right crosswind between 12 and 15 knots, with gusts to 20 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The flight crew's inadequate evaluation of the weather conditions, which resulted in their inadequate compensation for the wind conditions, and subsequent undershoot. A contributing factor in the accident was a downdraft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/28/2003
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1140
Event Time Zone --
Event City GOODNEWS
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99589
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? --
Event Location Latitude 590703N
Event Location Longitude 1613439W
Event Location Airport GOODNEWS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID GNU
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 15
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1155 Atlantic Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID PAEH
Elevation of weather observation facility 541
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 32
Time Zone of the weather observation ADT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1000
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) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 26
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.02
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Light
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 2
Injury Total None 8
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14508
NTSB Notification Source FAA REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER
NTSB Notification Date Jun 28 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1232
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 30 2003 8:55AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N512FS
NTSB Number ANC03LA062
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Swearingen
Aircraft Model SA-226T
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number T-299
Certified Max Gross Weight 12500
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 10
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Jun 19 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 23
Airframe Hours 5746
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name F S AIR SERVICE INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 6121 S. AIRPARK PL.
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 STGA
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 Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code PANC
Departure City ANCHORAGE
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 830
Departure Time Zone ADT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code GNU
Destination City GOODNEWS
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 23 2003 4:20PM
User who most recently changed record PETL
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 05
Runway Length 2835
Runway Width 80
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --