Bethel Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bethel, Alaska 99559
Tuesady, January 15, 2008 14:39 AST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airline transport pilot was planning to land on an asphalt runway that had localized drifting and blowing snow. Instead, the airplane touched down in a snow-covered area of the airport between the runway and the adjacent taxiway. The pilot said that blowing snow and flat lighting conditions contributed to his difficulty in discerning the correct location of the runway. He said he "aimed for the darker area between the runway and the taxiway, believing this was the runway." The director of operations for the operator said that the depression between the runway and the taxiway had been filled with snow by runway maintenance personnel during snow removal operations. He indicated that the area had the illusion of a hard surface, but landing during reduced visibility due to blowing snow required the pilot to take advantage of any and all available resources, such as requesting the activation of the runway lights, and/or using the instrument landing system (ILS) localizer as a means of aligning the airplane with the centerline of the runway.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing. Contributing to the accident were snow-covered terrain, blowing snow and flat lighting conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/15/2008
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1439
Event Time Zone Atlantic Standard Time
Event City Bethel
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99559
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 604647N
Event Location Longitude 1615017W
Event Location Airport Bethel
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PABE
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 126
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1437 Atlantic Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID PABE
Elevation of weather observation facility 126
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation AST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1400
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -1
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 17
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.36
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 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 24069
NTSB Notification Source FAA Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Jan 15 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2008 3:01PM
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 N454SF
NTSB Number ANC08LA031
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 208B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 208B0797
Certified Max Gross Weight 8550
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 5
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Jan 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2
Airframe Hours 8612
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Grant Aviation Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4451 Aircraft Dr.
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 ENHA
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SXP
Departure City Sheldon Point
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1315
Departure Time Zone AST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PABE
Destination City Bethel
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 8 2008 9:12PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 6400
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight Yes
Medical Flight Medical Emergency