# NTSB ANC05LA025: de Havilland DHC-6-200, N201EH, Toksook Bay, AK, January 27, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: January 27, 2005, 10:15 local (14:15 UTC) - Place: Toksook Bay, AK - Coordinates: 60.541389, -165.087219 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.5414&lon=-165.0872&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 8 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 20, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Anchorage FSDO-03 - NTSB case key (mKey): 60941 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC05LA025 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/60941/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC05LA025 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusty crosswind wind condition, which resulted in a loss of control during the landing roll, and the collapse of the nose landing gear. Factors associated with the accident were the crosswind and wind gusts. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - weather condition - crosswind (contributing factor) - weather condition - gusts (contributing factor) - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - terrain condition - runway - terrain condition - icy - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - rough/uneven - Nose gear collapsed, landing - roll ## Analysis The airline transport pilot of the CFR Part 121 scheduled passenger flight landed the airplane on an ice-covered, gravel airstrip in gusty crosswind conditions. He estimated the winds were a direct crosswind at 20-25 knots, and gusty. The pilot reported that after a straight-in approach to runway 16, a gust of wind caused the airplane to slide sideways on the runway during the landing roll. The airplane exited the right side of the runway, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest on the nose and right wing. The airplane received structural damage to the nose and right wing. ## Factual narrative On January 27, 2005, about 1015 Alaska standard time, a wheel-equipped deHavilland DHC-6-200 airplane, N201EH, sustained substantial damage when the airplane slid off the runway during the landing roll, and its nose gear collapsed at the Toksook Bay Airport, Toksook Bay, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by Era Aviation, of Anchorage, Alaska, as an instrument flight rules (IFR) scheduled domestic passenger flight under Title 14, CFR Part 121, when the accident occurred. The airline transport certificated captain, the first officer, and the six passengers, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Tununak Airport, Tununak, Alaska, about 1008. In a written statement dated January 27, 2005, the pilot reported about 500 feet into the landing roll on runway 16, a gust of wind "blew us sideways." He wrote, "I could not straighten the aircraft, and we started to drift off the edge." He reported he had started to add power to initiate an aborted landing, but as he did so, he thought the airplane struck a runway light, and he reduced power and continued the landing roll. Exiting the right side of the runway the nose gear strut broke off, and the right main landing gear ran over the runway edge embankment. The airplane came to rest on the nose and right wing. The airport at Toksook Bay is unattended, and there is no official weather reporting station. There is however, a digital weather camera, which updates the picture every 10 minutes. The camera is located in a ramp area and looks northwest toward the approach end of runway 16. Coincidentally the camera took a picture of the accident airplane on short final to runway 16 at 1916, and again sitting on the side of the runway at 1926. In both pictures the windsock and segmented circle are clearly visible in the foreground, and indicated a crosswind from the left. In a written statement dated January 27, the pilot reported that he believed the wind speed was about 20-25 knots. During an examination of the airplane on February 3, the NTSB investigator-in-charge observed structural damage to the fuselage and the right wing. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N201EH](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N201EH-2006-12-14), registration cancelled 2006-12-14, S/N 217, built 1969 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: de Havilland DHC-6-200 - Registry model: [Dehavilland DHC-6 TWIN OTTER](https://openairdocs.org/model/dehavilland-dhc-6-twin-otter) (registry code 2802606) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60A](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-60a) (registry code 52043, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 217 - Airframe hours: 46473 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-20 550 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 121 - Registered owner: Era Aviation Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Continuous airworthiness, December 1, 2004, 126 hours before - Departed: 4KA, Tununak, AK - Destination: OOK, Toksook Bay, AK - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: OOK, Toksook Bay, runway 16, 3,200 × 60 ft, gravel ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 38; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review August 1, 2004; seat: left; flight hours: 6,666 total, 5,377 in this make and model, 3,437 as pilot in command, 214 in the last 90 days, 67 in the last 30 days, 8 in the last 24 hours - Co-pilot; age 26; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review August 1, 2004; seat: right; flight hours: 1,157 total, 857 in this make and model, 263 as pilot in command, 212 in the last 90 days, 77 in the last 30 days, 7 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 70° at 25 knots, gusting 35 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 7 °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 20050127001719A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050127001719A), Jan 27, 2005: Dhav DHC6, Toksook Bay, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot made the approach to the Toksook Bay Airport due to wind conditions with 10-degree flaps, due to what appeared to be about 20-25 KTS crosswind.… 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.