# Accident 19990525021539A: Dhav DHC6300, Anchorage, AK, May 25, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 25, 1999, 00:05 local time - Place: Anchorage, AK - Airport: Anchorage International - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling - Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121) - Operator: ERAA - Location: 61.1600° N, 149.9905° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.1600&lon=-149.9905&mi=10 - Aircraft: N72GC, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N72GC-2024-03-05) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Dehavilland DHC-6-300 (registry code 2802630, https://openairdocs.org/model/dehavilland-dhc-6-300) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A-27 series (registry code 52141, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-27-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: DHAV DHC6300 - Reported engine: PWA PT6A27 - People aboard: 4 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 4,150 total, 600 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC99LA064](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99LA064) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990525021539A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON MAY 25, 1999, ABOUT 0005 ALASKA DAYLIGHT TIME, A DEHAVILLAND DHC-6-300 AIRPLANE, N72GC, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE DURING THE DOWNWIND PORTION OF THE LANDING PHASE, ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTH OF THE ANCHORAGE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ANCHORAGE, ALASKA. THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING OPERATED AS AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) SCHEDULED FLIGHT UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 121 WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE AIRPLANE WAS OPERATED BY ERA AVIATION INC., ANCHORAGE, AS FLIGHT 4857. THE TWO FLIGHT CREW MEMBERS AND THE TWO PASSENGERS WERE NO INJURED. NIGHT VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED. AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT THE KENAI MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, KENAI, ALASKA, ABOUT 2348. THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS FOR THE OPERATOR REPORTED THE FLIGHT WAS CLEARED FOR A RIGHT DOWNWIND APPROACH FOR RUNWAY 14 AT ANCHORAGE. THE AIRPLANE WAS ABOUT MID-CHANNEL BETWEEN FIRE ISLAND, AND THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 6R. ABOUT 1,800 FEET MSL, THE FLIGHT CREW BRIEFLY OBSERVED SEVERAL BIRDS. THE CREW THEN FELT AN IMPACT. UPON LANDING, DAMAGE TO THE LEADING EDGE OF THE LEFT WING WAS DISCOVERED. SMALL PORTIONS OF A BIRD WERE FOUND ON THE LEADING EDGE. DURING AN INTERVIEW WITH THE FLIGHT CREW ON MAY 27, 1999, THE CREW SAID THE SIZE AND TYPE OF BIRD COULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED. EXAMINATION OF THE DAMAGE REVEALED DENTING OF THE LEADING EDGE, ABOUT FOUR FEET INBOARD FROM THE LEFT WING TIP. AN INTERNAL EXAMINATION OF WING DISCLOSED TWO BROKEN NOSE RIBS, AND WRINKLING OF THE UPPER WING SURFACE. (-23) DUE TO NO FAULT ON PART OF THE FLIGHT CREW, THE AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED A BIRD STRIKE DURING A VISUAL APPROACH AT NIGHT TO THE ANCHORAGE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AT APPROXIMATELY 11 PM LOCAL TIME. THE FLIGHT CREW BREIFLY OBSERVED SEVERAL BIRDS AT ABOUT 1800 FEET MSL THEN FELT AN IMPACT. AFTER LANDING THEY OBSERVED SOME DAMAGE TO THE LEADING EDGE OF THE LEFT WING COVERING ABOUT 6 FEET FROM THE WING TIP. A REPORT WAS GIVEN THROUGH THE FAA REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER, AND THE NTSB INSPECTED THE DAMAGE. THEY DETERMINED IT TOBE SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND CLASSIFIED IT AS AN ACCIDENT. (.4) A TWIN ENGINE TURBOPROP AIRPLANE HAD BEEN CLEARED FOR LANDING, AND WAS ON THE DOWNWIND PORTION OF A SCHEDULED TITLE 14 CFR PART 121 FLIGHT DURING NIGHT VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. THE AIRPLANE WAS ABOUT 1,800 FEET MSL, ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE DESTINATION AIRPORT THAT IS LOCATED IN A COASTAL AREA. THE FLIGHT CREW BRIEFLY OBSERVED SEVERAL BIRDS, AND THEN FELT AN IMPACT. UPON LANDING, DAMAGE TO THE LEADING EDGE OF THE LEFT WING WAS DISCOVERED. SMALL PORTIONS OF A BIRD WERE FOUND ON THE LEADING EDGE. THE CREW COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE SIZE AND TYPE OF BIRD. EXAMINATION OF THE DAMAGE TO THE WING REVEALED DENTING OF THE LEADING EDGE, AND WRINKLING OF THE UPPER WING SURFACE ABOUT 4 FEET INBOARD FROM THE LEFT WING TIP. AN INTERNAL EXAMINATION OF WING DISCLOSED TWO BROKEN NOSE RIBS. FORENSIC EXAMINATION OF BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL TAKEN FROM THE AIRPLANE'S WING WAS CONDUCTED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. THE MATERIAL WAS IDENTIFIED AS A COMMON EIDER. ## 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 ANC99LA064](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99LA064), May 25, 1999: de Havilland DHC-6-300 (N72GC), Anchorage, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: An in-flight collision with a bird. ## Other reports on N72GC (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 20200306001489A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200306001489A), Mar 6, 2020: Dehavilland DHC-6-300 (N72GC), Boulder City, NV, Substantial damage. On March 6, 2020, at approximately 11:15 local time, N72GC landed on runway 27 at the Boulder City airport (bvu) during a training flight. A pilot under the… 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.