# NTSB ANC06LA007: Cessna 208B, N1263Y, Unalakleet, AK, October 24, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 24, 2005, 14:00 local (22:00 UTC) - Place: Unalakleet, AK - Coordinates: 63.636112, -160.837219 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=63.6361&lon=-160.8372&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor - Status: Completed, report April 25, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Fairbanks FSDO-01 - NTSB case key (mKey): 62739 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC06LA007 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62739/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC06LA007 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance from terrain while performing a low altitude maneuver. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with terrain/water, maneuvering - terrain condition - ground - low altitude flight/maneuver - performed, pilot in command (cause) - altitude/clearance - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis After completing a multiple leg-cargo flight, the commercial pilot was conducting a 14 CFR Part 91, positioning flight. During the flight the pilot was flying at low-level looking for animals. According to the sole passenger, while approaching a ridgeline, the pilot climbed steeply from 150 feet above ground level (agl) to 400-500 feet agl, banked to the left at 75-80 degrees, and started a descent to about 200 feet agl. The passenger said during the descent he saw the pilot look in the back of the airplane because of noise made by the seats under a cargo net. The passenger said he saw the ground coming up fast, and yelled "whoa, whoa, whoa." The pilot looked forward just in time to pull the yoke back prior to the impact with the terrain. The pilot told the director of operations for the operator that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. The fuselage and wings received substantial damage during the accident. ## Factual narrative On October 24, 2005, about 1400 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 208B airplane, N1263Y, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain during low level maneuvering flight, about 17 miles south of Unalakleet, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by Bering Air Inc., of Nome, Alaska, as a visual flight rules (VFR) positioning flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The commercial certificated pilot and sole passenger received minor injuries. The flight departed Stebbins Airport, Stebbins, Alaska, about 1345, en route to Unalakleet. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on October 28, the director of operations for the operator said the pilot told him he was flight-seeing on the return trip to Unalakleet, when his attention was diverted to a noise in the cabin. The pilot told him that when he redirected his attention outside, the airplane collided with the brush and tundra covered terrain. According to the director of operations, the pilot said there were no mechanical problems with the airplane. The airplane sustained structural damage to the wings and fuselage during the accident. In a written statement to the NTSB dated November 10, the pilot wrote that he "passed over a ridgeline, and entered into a valley at low level to look for animals." He wrote that he "reduced power to slow the aircraft and nosed the aircraft forward to descend," and he "heard a noise from shifting seats in the rear of the airplane." He wrote that he "looked back to see what the noise was, and by the time I turned back to the front I only had enough time to pull back on the yoke and flare the aircraft to lessen the impact." In a written statement to the FAA dated November 1, the passenger wrote that on the multiple leg flight, the pilot typically flew between 150 and 400 feet above ground level (agl). He wrote that during the accident flight, they had descended to 150 feet agl flying through creek ravines, banking left and right at 60-80 degrees angle of bank. He reported that just prior to the accident, they did a maneuver where the airplane climbed steeply to 400-500 feet agl, then banked left about 75-80 degrees angle of bank, while descending to about 200 feet agl. He reported that during the descent, the pilot looked in the back of the airplane because of the noise some seats under a cargo net were making. He wrote that he saw the ground coming up fast, and shouted "whoa, whoa, whoa," at which time the pilot looked forward, and pulled back on the yoke just prior to the impact with the terrain. ## Aircraft - Registration: N1263Y (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Cessna 208B - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 208B0731 - Airframe hours: 7259 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-14A 675 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Registered owner: Bering Air Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: AAIP, October 1, 2005, 100 hours before - Departed: WBB, Stebbins, AK - Destination: PAUN, Unalakleet, AK - Flight plan: VFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 29; injuries: minor; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review April 1, 2005; seat: left; flight hours: 2,130 total, 740 in this make and model, 990 as pilot in command, 270 in the last 90 days, 45 in the last 30 days, 6 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 310° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 5,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 32 °F, dew point 25 °F - Altimeter: 29.63 inHg - Observed at: UNK, 15 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 20051024029809A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20051024029809A), Oct 24, 2005: Cessna 208B, Unalakleet, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) While operating at very low altitude and high speed the pilot performed a maneuver similar to a wingover. As the aircraft was descending rapidly a noise… 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.