Bethel Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bethel, Alaska 99559
Tuesady, October 7, 2008 17:06 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

N411GV, a Cessna 208B, was taxiing south on Taxiway C towards the runway. A second Cessna 208B, N1229C, was exiting toward the east from the runway at Taxiway B. The ground controller told N29C, "taxi to park on the right, use caution for company traffic." The controller mistakenly thought the two airplanes were from the same company. No caution was issued to N1GV to move the right to avoid N29C. The left wingtips of each airplane collided at the intersection of Taxiways B and C. The controller did not instruct either airplane to hold or give way to the other, and the intersection was not large enough to accommodate them both at the same time. Each airplane received structural damage to their wingtips and fuselages. The FAA's Air Traffic Controller's Handbook contains instructions and phraseology for use by air traffic controllers to marshal the movement of aircraft on the airport's movement area, and that specific phraseology was not used. Following the accident, the tower manager issued corrective actions for ground operations, which included notifying airport operators of a change in taxiing procedures, training all controllers of new taxiing procedures, and additional phraseology training of the controller involved in the accident. Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 91.3, notes that the pilot-in-command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to the operation of that aircraft. The Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), notes that although an ATC clearance is issued for taxiing purposes, it is the responsibility of the pilot to avoid collision with other aircraft.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of both pilots to maintain adequate clearance/distance from each other at the taxiway intersection to avoid a collision. Contributing to the accident was a lack of clear and concise instruction to either airplane by the ground controller to preclude them from entering the taxiway intersection at the same time.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/7/2008
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1706
Event Time Zone --
Event City Bethel
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99559
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
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 1720 Atlantic Daylight 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 ADT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 5500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3400
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) 9
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 2
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.02
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 17
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 25274
NTSB Notification Source FAA Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2009 12:01PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft #2

Aircraft Registration Number N1229C N411GV
NTSB Number ANC09LA004A ANC09LA004B
Missing Aircraft Indicator -- --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? -- --
Damage Substantial Substantial
Aircraft Fire None None
Aircraft Explosion None None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA CESSNA
Aircraft Model 208B 208B
Aircraft Series Identifier -- --
Aircraft Serial Number 208B0589 208B0672
Certified Max Gross Weight 8750 8766
Aircraft Category Airplane Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class -- --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No No
Flight Crew Seats -- --
Cabin Crew Seats -- --
Passenger Seats -- --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 11 9
Number of Engines 1 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Sep 28 2008 12:00AM Sep 16 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 48 386
Airframe Hours 9302 12785
ELT Installed Yes Yes
ELT Activated No No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No No
ELT Type Unknown Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name SCUDERO INC GUSSIC VENTURES LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 955 FOREST AVE 7325 FOXRIDGE CIRCLE #1
Aircraft Owner City KETCHIKAN ANCHORAGE
Aircraft Owner State AK AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99901-6375 99518-2710
Operator is an individual? No No
Operator Name Grant Aviation Inc. Hageland Aviation Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? No No
Operator Is Doing Business As -- --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No No
Operator Street Address 4451 Aircraft Dr. P.O Box 220610
Operator City Anchorage Anchorage
Operator State AK AK
Operator Country USA USA
Operator Zip code 99502 99522
Operator Code ENHA EPUA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation -- --
Operator Certificate Number -- --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Scheduled Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) -- --
Second Pilot on Board Yes No
Departure Point Same as Event No Yes
Departure Airport Code PAEM PABE
Departure City Emmonak Bethel
Departure State AK AK
Departure Country USA USA
Departure Time 1609 --
Departure Time Zone ADT ADT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city --
Destination Airport Code PABE PASM
Destination City Bethel St. Marys
Destination State AK AK
Destination Country USA USA
Specific Phase of Flight -- --
Report sent to ICAO? -- --
Evacuation occurred -- --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 24 2009 4:46PM Mar 24 2009 4:46PM
User who most recently changed record stam stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A N/A
Runway Length -- --
Runway Width -- --
Sight Seeing flight No No
Air Medical Flight No No
Medical Flight -- --