Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Sloulin International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Williston, North Dakota 58801
Friday, December 14, 2012 9:18 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that he made several radio calls announcing his intention to take off and that he did not hear any radio calls from other aircraft or vehicles. At the end of the ground roll, he heard a ”garbled” transmission stating something about the departure runway. He stated that, as the airplane lifted off, he saw a snowplow on the runway heading in the opposite direction. He continued the takeoff and flew over the snowplow. The snowplow driver stated that he did not hear any radios transmissions from the airplane until after it was airborne and that he had been plowing for about 30 minutes and had made radio calls every 2 to 3 minutes announcing his position. Another pilot who landed about 30 minutes after the incident reported that he also saw a snowplow operating on the airport and that he did not hear any radio calls from the snowplow even after it had crossed a runway. A postincident check of the snowplow and airplane radios revealed that they were functioning properly. The reason why the pilot and snowplow driver were not aware of each other's presence could not be determined due to the lack of recorded radio transmissions and because the airplane and snowplow radios were functioning properly. However, Federal Aviation Administration guidelines to ground vehicle operators state that they need to yield right-of-way to moving aircraft and that they need to ensure that no potential conflict with a moving aircraft exists.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The snowplow driver’s failure to ensure that the runway was clear before driving onto it, which resulted in a runway incursion with a departing airplane.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 12/14/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 918 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Williston |
| Event State | NORTH DAKOTA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 58801 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 481037N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1033822W |
| Event Location Airport | Sloulin International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | ISN |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1982 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 915 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | ISN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1982 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 100 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 1 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -6 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.73 |
| 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) | 32885 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 18 2014 5:49PM |
| User who most recently changed record | sulp |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3108B |
| NTSB Number | CEN13IA107 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | None |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | SWEARINGEN |
| Aircraft Model | SA227-AC |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | AC509 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 11152 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 27 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 34538 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | GAS WILSON INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 916 DONATA CT |
| Aircraft Owner City | LAKE ZURICH |
| Aircraft Owner State | IL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 60047-5025 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Business Aviation Courier |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Sioux Falls |
| Operator State | SD |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 57104 |
| Operator Code | DUFA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| 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 | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Positioning |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | ISN |
| Departure City | Williston |
| Departure State | ND |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 918 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | FSD |
| Destination City | Sioux Falls |
| Destination State | SD |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 18 2014 5:50PM |
| User who most recently changed record | sulp |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 29 |
| Runway Length | 6650 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |