# Accident 19980707015999A: Swrngn SA26AT, St George, AK, July 7, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 7, 1998, 15:47 local time - Place: St George, AK - Airport: St George Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Final Approach-IFR - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Operator: STZA - Location: 56.5700° N, 169.6296° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=56.5700&lon=-169.6296&mi=10 - Aircraft: N501FS, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N501FS-1998-08-21) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Swearingen SA-26AT (registry code 8780112, https://openairdocs.org/model/swearingen-sa-26at) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: SWRNGN SA26AT - Reported engine: GARRTT TPE331* - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Pilot flight hours: 13,000 total, 250 in this make and model, 150 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC98FA091](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98FA091) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980707015999A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.4) THE FLIGHT DEPARTED ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, AND WAS EN ROUTE TO SAINT GEORGE, ALASKA, TO PICK UP PASSENGERS FOR A RETURN FLIGHT TO ANCHORAGE. THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND (PIC) WAS SEATED IN THE RIGHT SEAT, AND THE COPILOT WAS SEATED IN THE LEFT SEAT. THIS WAS THE COPILOT'S THIRD FLIGHT IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL AIRPLANE, AND HE WAS NOT QUALIFIED AS A CREWMAN IN IT UNDER 14 CFR PART 135. THERE WAS NO RECORD OF WHEN THE COPILOT LAST PERFORMED A NONDIRECTIONAL BEACON (NDB) APPROACH. THE NDB INDICATOR IN THE COCKPIT WAS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE LEFT CONTROL COLUMN, PARTIALLY BLOCKED FROM THE VIEW OF THE PIC. THE MINIMUM DESCENT ALTITUDE (MDA) FOR THE SEGMENT OF THE APPROACH PRIOR TO THE FINAL APPROACH FIX (FAF) WAS 1,700 FEET. THE MDA FOR THE FINAL SEGMENT OF THE APPROACH WAS 880 FEET. THE REPORTED CEILING WAS 100 FEET OVERCAST. THE AIR ROUTE TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER RADAR ALTITUDE READOUT FOR THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THAT THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED BELOW 600 FEET PRIOR TO REACHING THE FAF. THE RADAR GROUND TRACK REVEALED THE AIRPLANE ON COURSE PRIOR TO THE COURSE REVERSAL PROCEDURE TURN ON THE PUBLISHED APPROACH. THE RADAR GROUND TRACK SHOWED THAT AFTER THE COURSE REVERSAL, THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED THROUGHTHE PUBLISHED FINAL APPROACH COURSE, AND TURNED TO PARALLEL THE INBOUND TR ACK THREE MILES NORTH OF COURSE. THE RADAR PLOT TERMINATES ABOUT THE LOCATION OF THE 550 FEET HIGH CLIFFS WHERE THE AIRPLANE WAS LOCATED. THIS LOCATION WAS 5.5 MILES (DME) FROM THE AIRPORT. A REVIEW OF RADAR TAPES FROM THE DAY PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, SHOW THE SAME AIRPLANE AND PIC TRACKING THE PUBLISHED COURSE OUTBOUND AND INBOUND, AND DESCENDING BELOW THE PUBLISHED APPROACH MINIMA TO BELOW 500 FEET. THIS FLIGHT SUCCESSFULLY LANDED AT THE AIRPORT. AN INTERVIEW WITH THE COPILOT FROM THE SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT REVEALED THAT THE PIC INTENTIONALLY DESCENDED TO 300 FEET ON THE APPROACH UNTIL HE ACQUIRED VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE OCEAN, THEN FLEW TO THE AIRPORT TO LAND. AN AIRCRAFT FLYING ON THE PUBLISHED INBOUND FINAL APPROACH COURSE AT 5.5 DME IS OVER WATER, APPROXIMATELY THREE MILES FROM THE NEAREST TERRAIN. (-23) ON JULY 7, 1998, N501FS (SA-26) DEPARTED ANCHORAGE INTL AT APPROXIMATELY 1300 ENROUTE TO ST. GEORGE ISLAND, AK. THE FLIGHT WAS A CHARTER UNDER FAR PART 135 WITH FLOYD SALTZ AS PILOT IN COMMAND. MR. HAL HORTON, A PILOT FOR F.S. AIR, ALSO OCCUPIED A PILOT SEAT ON THE LEFT. N501FS MEETS SINGLE PI LOT IFR REQUIREMENTS. THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED ANCHORAGE WITH MR. HORTON OCCUPYING THE LEFT SEAT AND MR. SALTZ OCCUPYING THE RIGHT SEAT. RECORDS INDICATE THAT MR. HORTON WAS NOT QUALIFIED IN THE SA-26 AIRCRAFT. UPON ARRIVAL AT ST. GEORGE ISLAND, N501FS WAS CLEARED BY ATC FOR THE NDB/DME APPROACH. RADAR TRACKING SHOWED THE AIRPLANE TRACK OUTBOUND FROM THE INITIAL APPROACH FIX AND FLY THE PROCEDURE TURN AS DEPICTED. HOWEVER, THE AIRPLANE DID NOT PROCEED INBOUND AS DEPICTED ON THE APPROACH PLATE. THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED IN A NORTHERLY DIRECTION FOR APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES BEFORE TURNING TO THE INBOUND HEADING OF 065 DEGREES. ALSO, THE AIRPLANE WAS DEPICTED ON RADAR AT 600' MSL, THE MDA FOR THE APPROACH IS 880 FEET. AS A RESULT, THE AIRPLANE WAS NORTH OF THE DEPICTED INBOUND COURSE AND WELL BELOW MDA WHEN IT IMPACTED TERRAIN. (NOTE) THIS ACCIDENT IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION. THE 8020-23 WILL BE UPDATED AS INFORMATION IS RECEIVED. ## 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 ANC98FA091](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98FA091), Jul 7, 1998: Swearingen SA-26AT (N501FS), St. George, AK, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot-in-command's failure to adequately monitor the instrument approach and the co-pilot's failure to intercept and maintain the proper NDB bearing on the approach. Contributing factors were the… ## Other reports on N501FS (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19960605012889A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960605012889A), Jun 5, 1996: Swrngn SA226AT (N501FS), Galena, AK, Substantial damage. Taxied on runway after landing. Veered off,prop strike. Left engine fragmented. Debrie hit fuselage. Blamed soft spot 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.