# NTSB ANC03LA065: Cessna 402B, N710WS, Telida, AK, June 9, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 9, 2003, 13:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: Telida, AK - Coordinates: 55.919296, -159.490509 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=55.9193&lon=-159.4905&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 4 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 25, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA, Anchorage Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 57342 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC03LA065 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/57342/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC03LA065 ## Probable cause The pilot's selection of an unsuitable landing site, which resulted in the collapse of the nose landing gear. A factor in the accident was a soft runway. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - airport facilities,runway/landing area condition - soft (contributing factor) - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause) - Nose gear collapsed, landing - roll ## Analysis The airline transport pilot was landing a tricycle gear airplane on a remote, gravel and dirt airstrip. During the landing roll, the nose wheel landing gear encountered soft terrain, and the nose landing gear collapsed, resulting in structural damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that the landing surface was softer than he had anticipated. The FAA Alaska Supplement and Airport Directory, contains the following information for the airstrip: Airport Remarks---Unattended. Runway conditions not monitored, recommend visual inspection prior to landing. Runway 02-20 is soft in spring, surface irregular and rutted. ## Factual narrative On June 9, 2003, about 1300 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 402B airplane, N710WS, sustained substantial damage when its nose landing gear collapsed during the landing roll at the Telida airstrip, Telida, Alaska. The Title 14, CFR Part 91 cross-country flight operated in visual meteorological conditions, and a VFR flight plan was in effect. The airline transport certificated pilot and the three passengers were not injured. The flight was operated by Kingdom Support Services, Inc., in support of its missionary organization. The flight departed Minchumina, Alaska, about 1230, and was en route to Fairbanks, Alaska, with an intermediate stop at Telida. The NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) had telephone conversations with the pilot on June 10 and June 30. The pilot related during the initial conversation that he was landing on runway 02 at the Telida airstrip, which is 1,900 feet long and composed of dirt and sand. The pilot said that the runway surface was softer than he anticipated, and the nose landing gear collapsed when the nose wheel encountered a soft spot. He said he was unsure of the amount of the damage to the airplane, but it appeared to be confined to the radome, propellers, and nose landing gear. He said he would call the IIC as soon as a mechanic had an opportunity to assess the damage. On June 30, the pilot telephoned the IIC, and provided several digital photographs of the airplane taken at the Telida airstrip by an aviation mechanic. The photographs disclosed structural damage to the underside of the fuselage structure in front of the nose landing gear wheel well, and aft of the radome. The FAA Alaska Supplement and Airport Directory, contains the following information for the Telida airstrip: Airport Remarks---Unattended. Runway conditions not monitored, recommend visual inspection prior to landing. Runway 02-20 is soft in spring, surface irregular and rutted. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N710WS](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N710WS-2009-08-18), registration cancelled 2009-08-18, S/N 402B0558, built 1974 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 402B - Registry model: [Cessna 402B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-402b) (registry code 207590P) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental TSIO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series) (registry code 17040, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 402b-0558 - Airframe hours: 6887 - Engines: Continental TSIO-520-E 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Other work use, Part 91 - Registered owner: Kingdom Support Services - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, March 14, 2003, 10 hours before - Departed: MHM, Minchumina, AK - Destination: FAI, Fairbanks, AK - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: 2K5, Telida, runway 02, 1,900 × 40 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 44; injuries: none; flight instructor, airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review April 14, 2002; seat: left; flight hours: 17,000 total, 405 in this make and model, 11,600 as pilot in command, 150 in the last 90 days, 50 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 10,000 ft broken - Temperature: 59 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20030609037429A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030609037429A), Jun 9, 2003: Cessna 402B, Telida, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) On June 9, 2003 at approximately 1915 local Alaska time N710WS, a Cessna 402 on a missionary organization flight for kingdom support services inc. from… ## Other investigations on N710WS (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 ANC95LA077](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC95LA077), Jun 12, 1995: Cessna 402B (N710WS), Tuntutuliak, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: THE AIRPORT MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL'S INADEQUATE MAINTENANCE OF THE RUNWAY BY NOT REPLACING THE YELLOW CONES THAT MARKED THE SOFT AREA. THE SOFT AREA ON THE RUNWAY WAS A RELATED FACTOR. 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. --- 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.