# NTSB ANC08LA031: Cessna 208B, N454SF, Bethel, AK, January 15, 2008 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: January 15, 2008, 14:39 local (18:39 UTC) - Place: Bethel, AK - Coordinates: 60.779724, -161.838058 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.7797&lon=-161.8381&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 4 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 28, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03 - NTSB case key (mKey): 67395 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC08LA031 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/67395/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=67395 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC08LA031 ## Probable cause The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing. Contributing to the accident were snow-covered terrain, blowing snow and flat lighting conditions. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface: snow/slush/ice covered surface](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03023015): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Not specified (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 208B, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03023015/cases.md?model=2073701), [All aircraft, 219 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03023015/cases.md) - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 208B, 18 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=2073701), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Light condition](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03036000): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Contributed to outcome (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 208B, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03036000/cases.md?model=2073701), [All aircraft, 15 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03036000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 208B, 20 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2073701), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The airline transport pilot was planning to land on an asphalt runway that had localized drifting and blowing snow. Instead, the airplane touched down in a snow-covered area of the airport between the runway and the adjacent taxiway. The pilot said that blowing snow and flat lighting conditions contributed to his difficulty in discerning the correct location of the runway. He said he "aimed for the darker area between the runway and the taxiway, believing this was the runway." The director of operations for the operator said that the depression between the runway and the taxiway had been filled with snow by runway maintenance personnel during snow removal operations. He indicated that the area had the illusion of a hard surface, but landing during reduced visibility due to blowing snow required the pilot to take advantage of any and all available resources, such as requesting the activation of the runway lights, and/or using the instrument landing system (ILS) localizer as a means of aligning the airplane with the centerline of the runway. ## Factual narrative On January 15, 2008, about 1439 Alaska Standard time, a Cessna 208B airplane, N454SF, sustained substantial damage when it collided with snow-covered terrain during the landing flare at the Bethel Airport, Bethel, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country air medical flight under Title 14, CFR Part 135, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by Grant Aviation Inc., Anchorage, Alaska. The airline transport certificated pilot, a paramedic passenger, and two medical patients/passengers, were not injured. A second paramedic passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and VFR company flight following procedures were in effect. The flight originated at the Sheldon Point Airport, Sheldon Point, Alaska, about 1315. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on January 15, the director of operations for the operator reported that the pilot was planning to land on runway 18 at Bethel. Instead, the airplane touched down in a snow-covered area of the airport, between the runway and the adjacent taxiway, collapsing the nose landing gear. On January 17, the director of maintenance for the operator reported that the airplane sustained structural damage to the firewall and forward fuselage bulkhead. At 1437, a special weather observation at Bethel was reporting, in part: Wind, 160 degrees (true) at 17 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles; clouds and sky condition, 1,400 feet scattered, 2,900 feet scattered, 3,500 feet broken; temperature, 30 degrees F; dew point, 27 degrees F; altimeter, 29.36 inHg; remarks, occasional localized low drifting snow and blowing snow. In the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1) submitted by the operator, the pilot reported that during the landing approach, blowing snow and flat lighting conditions contributed to his difficulty in discerning the correct location of the runway. He said he "aimed for the darker area between the runway and the taxiway, believing this was the runway." In the "Recommendation (How could this accident have been prevented)" portion of the NTSB Form 6120.1, the director of operations said that the depression between the runway and the taxiway had been filled with snow by runway maintenance personnel during snow removal operations. He indicated that the area had the illusion of a hard surface, and landing during reduced visibility due to blowing snow required the pilot to take advantage of any and all available resources to ensure a successful outcome. He suggested that pilots could request air traffic control tower (ATC) personnel to activate the runway lighting, and the pilot could also use the instrument landing system (ILS) localizer as a means of aligning with the centerline of the runway. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N454SF](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N454SF), registered now, S/N 208B-0797, built 1999 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 208B - Registry model: [Cessna 208B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-208b) (registry code 2073701) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney PT6A series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (registry code 52032, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 208B0797 - Airframe hours: 8612 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A 675 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Registered owner: Grant Aviation Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: AAIP, January 1, 2008, 2 hours before - Departed: SXP, Sheldon Point, AK - Destination: PABE, Bethel, AK - Flight plan: Company VFR - Airport: PABE, Bethel, runway 18, 6,400 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 40; injuries: none; commercial, airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review September 1, 2007; seat: left; flight hours: 9,300 total, 850 in this make and model, 8,900 as pilot in command, 110 in the last 90 days, 30 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 17 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 3,500 ft broken - Temperature: 30 °F, dew point 27 °F - Altimeter: 29.36 inHg - Observed at: PABE ## 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 20080115010999A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080115010999A), Jan 15, 2008: Cessna 208B, Bethel, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) The pilot landed at the Bethel, Alaska airport between runway 18 and the taxiway. The aircraft touched down on the tundra collapsing the nose gear,… ## Other investigations on N454SF (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 ANC20LA020](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC20LA020), Feb 5, 2020: Cessna 208 (N454SF), Hooper Bay, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s decision to depart from a contaminated runway, and his failure to make a timely decision to abort the takeoff when the airplane was not accelerating as expected. Contributing to the… - [NTSB ANC06CA011](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC06CA011), Dec 13, 2005: Cessna 208B (N454SF), Newtok, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate compensation for gusting crosswind conditions, which resulted in the airplane exiting the runway, encountering snow, and the nose gear collapsing. Factors associated with the… - [NTSB ANC02LA016](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC02LA016), Feb 24, 2002: Cessna 208B (N454SF), Tununak, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing. Factors associated with the accident are snow drifts across the runway, and excessive braking during the rearward roll. ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 8, 2008, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=67395. 752 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 752 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40298538&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF 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.