English Bay Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

English Bay, Alaska 99603
Friday, July 11, 2003 11:05 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The solo certificated commercial pilot of the Title 14, CFR 135, cargo flight was attempting to land the airplane on a 1,850 foot long by 50 foot wide gravel-covered airstrip. Several witnesses reported gusty east-southeast winds, ranging between 25 and 40 knots, blowing directly across the runway. They reported that as the airplane proceeded on its final approach to runway 19, which required a correction for a left crosswind, the airplane "floated down the runway" after passing over the runway threshold, and eventually touched down about mid-field. As it touched down, the airplane bounced twice, which was immediately followed by the sound of full engine power. As it began to climb, the airplane made a sharp right turn to the west, to avoid terrain at the end of the runway. As the westerly turn continued, the airplane climbed to about 150 feet, over the ocean waters to the south of the airport. The witnesses said that the nose of the airplane then pitched up, and the left wing suddenly dropped. The airplane subsequently descended, struck the surface of the ocean, and sank in 30 feet of water about 200 yards from shore. Examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies. Pilots who regularly use the accident airport stated that they routinely encounter substantial downdrafts on final approach to runway 19 when the prevailing strong east-southeast winds are present. The pilots added that when the east-southeasterly winds are blowing, the approach requires a significant correction for a left crosswind. A pilot who had recently departed from the accident airport, talked with the accident pilot via radio about 45 minutes before the accident. The pilot told the accident pilot, in part: "Be careful. You've got the typical strong southeast winds blowing right across the runway."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during an aborted landing, resulting in an inadvertent stall and subsequent collision with water. Factors were the high velocity crosswind conditions, the pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions, and his delay in aborting the landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/11/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1105
Event Time Zone --
Event City English Bay
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99603
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? --
Event Location Latitude 592113N
Event Location Longitude 1515551W
Event Location Airport English Bay
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KEB
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.2
Degrees magnetic from airport 200
Airport Elevation 0
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Witness
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 8000
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 15
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 10
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 120
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 20
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 40
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.94
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15041
NTSB Notification Source Anchorage FSDO-03
NTSB Notification Date Jul 11 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1120
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 30 2004 8:14AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Anchorage FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N505SD
NTSB Number ANC03FA075
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 206
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2060947
Certified Max Gross Weight 3600
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jun 17 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 80
Airframe Hours 11628
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Smokey Bay Air, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O.Box 457
Aircraft Owner City Anchorage
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99603
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 X53A
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code HOM
Departure City Homer
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone ADT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code KEB
Destination City English Bay
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - aborted
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 11 2004 2:00PM
User who most recently changed record PETL
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 19
Runway Length 1850
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --