- Date
- March 13, 2009, 16:00 local (Mar 14, 2009, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Healy, AK
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N6478VHelio H-295
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20090313046889A
- Case key
- 73489
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's delay in initiating a climb while he was packing snow with the airplane's skis in preparation for landing, resulting in a collision with brush.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The airline transport pilot was on an on-demand air taxi passenger flight in a ski-equipped airplane. The pilot said that the accident occurred while he was packing snow at the landing site by laying down tracks with the airplane's skis in preparation for landing. During the last pass, he said that as the airplane lifted off the snow, the wings encountered high brush; when he pulled back on the elevator control to clear the brush, he said that he believed that the tail ski contacted the snow and dragged the airplane down into the brush. The pilot said that there were no known mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. The fuselage and empennage sustained structural damage during the encounter with brush and terrain.
Factual narrative
On March 13, 2009, about 1600 Alaska daylight time, a ski-equipped Helio H-295 airplane, N6478V, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain while laying down tracks to pack snow on the snow-covered terrain prior to landing, at the Stampede airstrip, about 42 miles west of Healy, Alaska. The airplane was operated by Wright Air Service, Inc., Fairbanks, Alaska, as a visual flight rules (VFR), on-demand passenger flight under Title 14, CFR Part 135, when the accident occurred. The airline transport pilot and two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan was filed. The flight departed Fairbanks, Alaska, about 1510. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on March 14, the pilot said he was laying down tracks with the airplane's ski's to pack the snow on the airstrip prior to landing. He said when the airplane lifted off the snow, the wings encountered high brush, and he pulled back on the elevator control to clear the brush. He said as he did so, he believed the tail ski contacted the snow and dragged the airplane down into the brush. The pilot said there were no known mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. The fuselage and empennage sustained structural damage during the encounter with brush and terrain.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6478V
- Reported as
- Helio H-295
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1431
- Airframe hours
- 8,018
- Engine
- Lycoming GO-480 SERIES, 295 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Wright Air Service Inc, doing business as Wright Air Service
- Registered owner
- Bursiel Equipment Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 26, 2009
- Departed
- FAI · Fairbanks, AK
- Destination
- Healy, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- Z90 · Stampede, runway 33, grass/turf
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 37
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 13, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 12,600 total · 3,500 in this make and model · 11,100 as pilot in command · 140 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -20 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.