- Date
- November 13, 1983, 00:40 local (04:40 UTC)
- Place
- Nuiqsut, AK
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N3910YBell 212
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Case key
- 4187
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The search & rescue flt had been dispatched from barrow to an acft accident site adjacent to the Nuiqsut arpt. Accordingto the plt, upon arriving at Nuiqsut at 300 ft AGL the visibility was 2-3 mi. They lined up with snow machines for a visual apch to the site & the co-plt disengaged the autopilot for descent. The PIC called out 200, 100 & 50 ft. at the 50 ft call-out the acft impacted terrain & both plts pulled up on the collective. Right after the PIC said 'we're at 50 feet' the acft again struck the ground. The PIC was giving altitude readouts from the radar altimeter. The acft had impacted first on the edge of a 50 ft gully. The acft had approached over the gully. Based on oliktok, deadhorse & umiat wx the Nuiqsut arpt was engulfed in fog.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3910Y
- Reported as
- Bell 212
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 31195
- Airframe hours
- 538
- Engine
- P&W PT6T-3-B, 1,290 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public aircraft · Part 91
- Registered owner
- North Slope Borough
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 20, 1983 · 48 hours before
- Departed
- BRW · Barrow, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- 10AK · Nuiqsut
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
- 34
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 6,300 total · 303 in this make and model · 52 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- -8 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SCC, 62 nm away