Buckland Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Buckland, Alaska 99727
Saturday, March 14, 2009 12:52 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The commercial pilot was on a cargo flight when he landed on the snow-covered runway and, upon touching down, he noticed the braking action was nil. He said that about 500 feet from the departure end of the runway he realized that stopping was going to be a problem, but he elected not to abort the landing. The airplane slid off the end of the runway and struck a snowbank, causing structural damage to the left wing. He said that he had not received any reports about braking action for the airport that day, but that he had landed there on the previous day and that the condition of the runway then was acceptable. According to the pilot, there were no known mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. After the accident he examined the runway surface and determined that it was light snow over ice. The Federal Aviation Administration Flight Information Supplement, Alaska, Buckland Airport, under airport remarks, says, in part: "Unattended. Runway condition not monitored, recommend visual inspection prior to landing."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to abort the landing while landing on a snow/ice-covered runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/14/2009
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1252
Event Time Zone --
Event City Buckland
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99727
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 655853N
Event Location Longitude 1610857W
Event Location Airport Buckland
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PABL
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 31
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1156 Atlantic Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID PABL
Elevation of weather observation facility 31
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation ADT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2800
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -31
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 25495
NTSB Notification Source FAA Anchorage, ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 14 2009 10:50AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4112K
NTSB Number ANC09LA025
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-31-350
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 31-8353006
Certified Max Gross Weight 7368
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 8
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Mar 2 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 25406
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name Icecap LLC Trustee
Aircraft Owner Street Address 701 W 8th ave STE 1200
Aircraft Owner City Anchorage
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99501
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Frontier Flying Service
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 5245 Airport Industrial Rd.
Operator City Fairbanks
Operator State AK
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 99-709
Operator Code FFSA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 OTZ
Departure City Kotzebue
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1219
Departure Time Zone ADT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PABL
Destination City Buckland
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 4 2011 1:20PM
User who most recently changed record broda
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 11
Runway Length 3200
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --