# NTSB ANC05LA041: Cessna 207, N36CF, Kipnuk, AK, February 16, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 15, 2005, 20:08 local (Feb 16, 2005, 00:08 UTC) - Place: Kipnuk, AK - Coordinates: 59.930236, -164.060516 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=59.9302&lon=-164.0605&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 20, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03 - NTSB case key (mKey): 61099 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC05LA041 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/61099/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC05LA041 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll, which resulted in a departure from the runway and collision with a snow bank. A factor contributing to the accident was snow-covered terrain. ## 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 - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - snow covered (contributing factor) ## Analysis The commercial certificated pilot was landing on a snow-covered runway during night visual meteorological conditions. The pilot indicated that when the nose wheel was lowered to the runway after the main landing gear wheels touched down, the airplane suddenly veered to the left. The airplane departed the left side of the runway, and the left wing struck a snow berm. The nose gear strut was displaced when a strut side brace fractured during the accident, and the left wing received damage to the outboard rib, and leading edge of the wingtip. The pilot reported the wind condition as 140 degrees at 5 knots. The operator's director of maintenance reported that during the repair of the nose gear assembly, he found no evidence of a mechanical malfunction. The runway is 2,120 feet long and 35 feet wide, and the FAA Airport/Facility Directory, Alaska Supplement, states, in part: Unattended. Caution: Runway condition not monitored, recommend visual inspection prior to using. Caution: Frequent crosswinds. ## Factual narrative On February 15, 2005, about 2008 Alaska standard time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 207 airplane, N36CF, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a snow berm during the landing touchdown at Kipnuk, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) scheduled domestic flight under Title 14, CFR Part 135, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated as Flight 585 by Yute Air Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska. The commercial certificated pilot was not injured, and the sole passenger received minor injuries. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and company VFR flight following procedures were in effect. The flight originated at the Chefornak Airport, Chefornak, Alaska, about 1953. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on February 15, the director of operations for the operator reported that the pilot was landing on runway 15 at Kipnuk. He said the pilot indicated that when the nose wheel was lowered to the runway after the main landing gear wheels touched down, the airplane suddenly veered to the left. The airplane departed the left side of the runway, and the left wing struck a snow berm. The nose gear strut was displaced when a side brace fractured during the accident, and the left wing received damage to the outboard rib, and leading edge of the wingtip. The propeller received tip damage. The pilot reported the wind condition as 140 degrees at 5 knots. An agent for the operator provided weather information to the company. At the time of the accident, the runway was covered by packed snow. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC on March 4, the operator's director of maintenance reported that the left wing repair included replacement of an 18-inch segment of the outboard end of the wing, to include replacement of a wing rib at wing station 208, and repair of upper and lower wing sections near wing station 190. On July 22, 2005, the director of maintenance reported that during the repair of the nose gear assembly, he found no evidence of a mechanical malfunction. The Kipnuk airport has a single gravel surface runway on a 150 and 330 degree magnetic orientation. It is 2,120 feet long and 35 feet wide, and is equipped with radio activated medium intensity runway lights. The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Facility Directory, Alaska Supplement, airport information remarks for Kipnuk, states, in part: Unattended. Caution: Runway condition not monitored, recommend visual inspection prior to using. Caution: Frequent crosswinds. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N36CF](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N36CF-2012-05-07), registration cancelled 2012-05-07, S/N 20700269, built 1974 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 207 - Registry model: [Cessna 207](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-207) (registry code 2073602) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 20700269 - Airframe hours: 283334 - Engines: Continental IO-520-F 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Operator: Flight Alaska Inc., doing business as Yute Air Alaska - Registered owner: Bethel Leasing, LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, January 1, 2005 - Departed: PACK, Chefornak, AK - Destination: PAKI, Kipnuk, AK - Flight plan: Company VFR - Airport: PAKI, Kipnuk, runway 15, 2,120 × 35 ft, gravel ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 46; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review April 1, 2004; seat: left; flight hours: 3,000 total, 2,000 in this make and model, 2,500 as pilot in command, 120 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days, 6 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night/dark - Wind: 140° at 5 knots - Visibility: 8 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 1,000 ft broken - Temperature: 32 °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 20050215006439A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050215006439A), Feb 15, 2005: Cessna 207, Kipnuk, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) The pilot made an normal approach and touchdown on the snow covered runway at Kipnuk, Alaska. Initial ground contact was made with main wheels only. When… ## Other investigations on N36CF (3) 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 ANC09LA012](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC09LA012), Nov 14, 2008: Cessna 207 (N36CF), Napaskiak, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's continued flight into adverse weather and icing conditions, and his failure to maintain sufficient airspeed to avoid a stall, resulting in a loss of control and in-flight collision with… - [NTSB ANC99LA153](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99LA153), Sep 17, 1999: Cessna 207 (N36CF), Bethel, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain a visual lookout for a parked airplane during taxi. - [NTSB ANC94LA022](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC94LA022), Dec 3, 1993: Cessna 207 (N36CF), Tuntutuliak, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALIGNMENT DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS AND THE SNOW BERM ALONG THE EDGE OF THE RUNWAY. 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.