# Accident 19971108032589A: Cessna 208B, Barrow, AK, November 8, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 8, 1997, 08:08 local time
- Place: Barrow, AK
- Airport: Wiley Post-Will Rogers Mem
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: EPUA
- Location: 71.2802° N, 156.7797° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=71.2802&lon=-156.7797&mi=10
- Aircraft: N750GC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N750GC-1998-06-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 208B (registry code 2073701, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-208b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 208B
- Reported engine: PWA PT6A114
- People aboard: 8
- Fatal injuries: 8
- Pilot flight hours: 3,500 total, 200 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC98MA008](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98MA008) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971108032589A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

HAGELAND AVIATION AIR TAXI CRASHED SHORTLY AFTER TAKE OFF ALL 8 POB SUFF FATAL INJ. BARROW, AK. (.4)THE PILOT, WHO WAS ALSO THE STATION MANAGER, ARRIVED AT THE AIRPORT EARLIER THAN OTHER COMPANY EMPLOYEES TO PREPARE FOR A SCHEDULED COMMUTER FLIGHT, TRANSPORTING SEVEN PASSENGERS AND CARGO TO ANOTHER VILLAGE DURING HOURS OF ARCTIC, PREDAWN DARKNESS.  HEAVY FROST WAS DESCRIBED ON VEHICLES AND AIRPLANES THE MORNING OF THE ACCIDENT, AND THE LINEMAN WHO SERVICED THE AIRPLANE DESCRIBED A THIN GLAZE OF ICE ON THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE LEFT WING.  THE PILOT WAS NOT OBSERVED DEICING THE AIRPLANE PRIOR TO FLIGHT, AND WAS DESCRIBED BY THE OTHER EMPLOYEES AS IN A HURRY TO DEPART ON TIME.  THE PILOT DIRECTED THE LINEMAN TO PLACE FUEL IN THE LEFT WING ONLY, WHICH RESULTED IN A FUEL IMBALANCE BETWEEN 450 AND 991 POUNDS (LEFT WING HEAVY).  THE FIRST TURN AFTER TAKEOFF WAS INTO THE HEAVY LEFT WING.  THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED CLIMBING PAST THE END OF THE RUNWAY, AND DESCENDING VERTICALLY INTO THE WATER.  NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL ANOMALIES WERE FOUND WITH THE AIRPLANE OR POWERPLANT.  THE AILERON TRIM INDICATOR WAS FOUND IN THE FULL RIGHT WING DOWN PO                                                      SITION. POSTACCIDENT FLIGHT TESTS WITH LEFT WING HEAVY LATERAL FUEL INBALANCES, DISCLOSED THAT APPROXIMATELY ONE-HALF OF RIGHT WING DOWN AILERON CONTROL DEFLECTION WAS USED TO MAINTAIN LEVEL FLIGHT, THUS LEAVING ONLY ONE-HALF RIGHT WING DOWN AILERON CONTROL EFFICACY. RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT FROST ON AIRFOILS CAN RESULT IN REDUCED STALL ANGLES TO ATTACK (OFTEN BELOW THAT  REQUIRED TO ACTIVE STALL WARNING DEVICES), INCREASED IN STALL SPEEDS BETWEEN 20% AND 40%, ASYMMETRIC STALLS RESULTING IN LARGE ROLLING MOMENTS, AND DIFFERING STALL ANGLES OF ATTACK FOR WINGS WITH UPWARD AND DOWNWARD DEFLECTED AILERONS (AS WHEN RECOVERING FROM TURNS).

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ANC98MA008](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98MA008), Nov 8, 1997: Cessna 208B (N750GC), Barrow, AK, destroyed, 8 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's disregard for lateral fuel loading limits, his improper removal of frost prior to takeoff, and the resulting inadvertent stall/spin. Factors involved in this accident were the improper…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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