# NTSB ANC04LA009: Beech 1900C, N112AX, Juneau, AK, November 24, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 24, 2003, 06:10 local (10:10 UTC) - Place: Juneau, AK - Coordinates: 58.354999, -134.574447 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=58.3550&lon=-134.5744&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 30, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Juneau, FSDO-05 - NTSB case key (mKey): 58385 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC04LA009 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/58385/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04LA009 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance from obstacles when approaching the airport, which resulted in an in-flight collision with a tree. Factors associated with the accident were the dark night, snow showers, and the pilot's failure to maintain runway alignment. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, approach - faf/outer marker to threshold (ifr) - weather condition - snow (contributing factor) - light condition - dark night (contributing factor) - object - tree(s) - altitude/clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - proper alignment - not maintained, pilot in command (contributing factor) ## Analysis The Title 14, CFR Part 135 cargo flight was on an instrument approach in dark night conditions to the destination airport when it collided with a tree. The flight was able to continue and land at the destination airport without further incident. The flight crew reported that they were cleared for the LDA-2 approach to runway 8, and were inside the final approach fix when the collision occurred. The LDA-2 approach minimum descent altitude is 1,000 feet, and the distance from the final approach fix to the touchdown zone is 3.2 miles. The reported weather at the destination airport at the time of arrival was 2 miles visibility, in light snow, with an 800 foot obscured ceiling. An FAA aviation safety inspector who inspected the airplane, said he found tree fragments imbedded in the airplane's right wing. He said the tree that was struck by the airplane was about 2 miles from the airport, and .24 miles north of the course centerline. The inspector said the tree's base elevation was between 200 to 300 feet msl, and he estimated the tree's height at 100 feet agl. The airplane received damage to the right side of the nose section, and the inboard section of the right wing. ## Factual narrative On November 24, 2003, about 0610 Alaska standard time, a Beech 1900C airplane, N112AX, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a tree during an instrument approach to the Juneau International Airport, Juneau, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as an instrument flight rules (IFR) cargo flight under Title 14, CFR Part 135, by Alaska Central Express Inc., Anchorage, Alaska. Following the collision, the airplane landed safely at the Juneau International Airport. The airline transport certificated captain and first officer were not injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight plan was filed. The flight departed the Yakutat Airport, Yakutat, Alaska, about 0500. Dark night conditions existed at the time of the accident. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on November 24, the director of operations for the operator said the captain told him he was flying the localizer directional aid-2 (LDA-2) approach to runway 8 at the Juneau International Airport. He said during the visual portion of the approach, between the final approach fix and the runway threshold, the airplane drifted left of the final approach course centerline and struck a tree. The right side of the airplane's nose, and the right inboard wing section, were damaged. During an interview with the IIC on November 26, the captain said while en route to Juneau from Yakutat, the visibility at Juneau improved to 2 miles, which is the minimum to initiate the LDA-2 approach into Juneau. He said he flew the published approach to the final approach fix, the Coghlan radio beacon, 3.2 miles from the Juneau airport, at which time he had sight of the lead-in lights to the airport. He said he proceeded visually to the airport at an altitude between 700 and 1,000 feet msl. The captain said after passing the Mendenhall non-directional beacon, he felt a bump as though they may have hit a bird. The captain said the first officer reported a malfunction of his airspeed indicator, and the right engine bleed air annunciator illuminated. He said he flew the airplane to an uneventful landing. During an interview with the IIC on November 26, the first officer reiterated essentially the same information as the pilot. Post flight inspection of the airplane revealed a tear in the nose on the right side of the airplane from the radar dome to the electronics bay door (about 3 feet). The electronics bay door was torn open, and suspended from its upper hinge. The inboard section of the right wing had a tear in the leading edge about 18 inches wide, which extended aft into the wing about 18 inches. During a telephone conversation with the IIC on December 9, the FAA aviation safety inspector who inspected the airplane, said he found tree fragments imbedded in the airplane's wing. He said he found the tree that was struck by the airplane about 2 miles from the airport, and .24 miles north of the course centerline. The inspector said the tree's base elevation was between 200 to 300 feet msl, and he estimated the tree's height as 100 feet agl. The minimum descent altitude for the LDA-2 approach is 1,000 feet, and the distance from the final approach fix to the touchdown zone is 3.2 miles. The most recent weather observation for Juneau International Airport prior to the accident was a special observation taken at 0604, reporting 2 miles visibility in light snow showers, vertical visibility of 800 feet agl, winds 110 degrees at 16 knots, and an altimeter setting of 29.40. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N112AX](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N112AX-2012-01-21), registration cancelled 2012-01-21, S/N UC-45 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Beech 1900C - Registry model: [Beech 1900C](https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-1900c) (registry code 1154161) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: UC-45 - Airframe hours: 40017 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65B 1100 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Registered owner: Alaska Central Express Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Continuous airworthiness, November 3, 2003, 157 hours before - Departed: A57, Yakutat, AK - Destination: PAJN, Juneau, AK - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: PAJN, Juneau International ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 29; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review September 7, 2003; seat: left; flight hours: 5,795 total, 3,642 in this make and model, 2,499 as pilot in command, 287 in the last 90 days, 82 in the last 30 days - Co-pilot; age 25; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review May 29, 2003; seat: right; flight hours: 2,900 total, 1,340 in this make and model, 1,438 as pilot in command, 300 in the last 90 days, 100 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Instrument (IMC), Night/dark - Wind: 110° at 16 knots - Visibility: 2 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 800 ft - Temperature: 32 °F, dew point 32 °F - Altimeter: 29.39 inHg - Observed at: PAJN, 2 nm away ## 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 20031124032269A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031124032269A), Nov 24, 2003: Beech 1900C, Juneau, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) Ace air 43 was executing the LDA-2 rwy 8 approach into Juneau, AK. At approximately 0615 local. While on the approach approximately 1.1 miles from the… ## Other investigations on N112AX (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 ANC10FA014](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC10FA014), Jan 22, 2010: Beech 1900C (N112AX), Sand Point, AK, substantial damage, 2 fatal. Probable cause: An in-flight loss of control for an undetermined reason, which resulted in an uncontrolled descent. 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.