Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Sitka Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sitka, Alaska 99835
Monday, October 18, 2010 7:00 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The captain, who was the non-flying pilot, reported that he altered their course to avoid thunderstorm activity. Once clear of the thunderstorms, they flew direct to the initial instrument approach fix. During the instrument approach to land, the flight crew saw a build up of static electricity, known as St. Elmo's fire, near the nose of the airplane. The first officer reported that the light from the static electricity was very bright, and he decided to keep his eyes focused on the instruments. Shortly thereafter, lightning struck the nose of the airplane and the associated flash temporarily blinded the captain. The first officer continued to fly the approach without difficulty. Once the captain regained his sight, he took the flight controls and completed the landing. During a postaccident inspection of the airplane, the flight crew discovered substantial damage to the right elevator.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A lightning strike which resulted in substantial damage to the elevator.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/18/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 700 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | Sitka |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99835 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 570249N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1352141W |
| Event Location Airport | Sitka |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | PASI |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 15 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 653 Atlantic Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PASI |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 21 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | ADT |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 6500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3100 |
| 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) | 9 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 4 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 21 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.56 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28430 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-Juneau FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 7 2011 7:44AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N111AX |
| NTSB Number | ANC11LA004 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | BEECH |
| Aircraft Model | 1900C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | UC-81 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 17600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 3 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 3 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 29 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 56862 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ALASKA CENTRAL EXPRESS INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 5901 LOCKHEED AVE |
| Aircraft Owner City | ANCHORAGE |
| Aircraft Owner State | AK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99502-1094 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | ALASKA CENTRAL EXPRESS INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 5901 LOCKHEED AVE |
| Operator City | ANCHORAGE |
| Operator State | AK |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 99502-1094 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | PAJN |
| Departure City | Juneau |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 608 |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PAJN |
| Destination City | Juneau |
| Destination State | AK |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 13 2011 4:54PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 11 |
| Runway Length | 6500 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |