Kipnuk Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kipnuk, Alaska 99614
Tuesady, February 15, 2005 20:08 AST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The commercial certificated pilot was landing on a snow-covered runway during night visual meteorological conditions. The pilot indicated that when the nose wheel was lowered to the runway after the main landing gear wheels touched down, the airplane suddenly veered to the left. The airplane departed the left side of the runway, and the left wing struck a snow berm. The nose gear strut was displaced when a strut side brace fractured during the accident, and the left wing received damage to the outboard rib, and leading edge of the wingtip. The pilot reported the wind condition as 140 degrees at 5 knots. The operator's director of maintenance reported that during the repair of the nose gear assembly, he found no evidence of a mechanical malfunction. The runway is 2,120 feet long and 35 feet wide, and the FAA Airport/Facility Directory, Alaska Supplement, states, in part: Unattended. Caution: Runway condition not monitored, recommend visual inspection prior to using. Caution: Frequent crosswinds.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll, which resulted in a departure from the runway and collision with a snow bank. A factor contributing to the accident was snow-covered terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/15/2005
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 2008
Event Time Zone Atlantic Standard Time
Event City Kipnuk
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99614
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? --
Event Location Latitude 595559N
Event Location Longitude 1563857W
Event Location Airport Kipnuk
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PAKI
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 --
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 Night/Dark
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) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 0
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
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 1
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 18718
NTSB Notification Source FAA Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Feb 15 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2110
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 20 2005 6:27AM
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 N36CF
NTSB Number ANC05LA041
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 207
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 20700269
Certified Max Gross Weight 3800
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 7
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 283334
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Bethel Leasing, LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4335 S. Park Bluff
Aircraft Owner City Anchorage
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99516
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Flight Alaska Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 6601 S. Airpark Place
Operator City Anchorage
Operator State AK
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 99502
Operator Code YAAA
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/Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code PACK
Departure City Chefornak
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1953
Departure Time Zone AST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PAKI
Destination City Kipnuk
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 20 2005 3:01PM
User who most recently changed record PETL
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 15
Runway Length 2120
Runway Width 35
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --