ANC94FA011

The pilot reportedly flew a route along the power lines between Kenai and homer. The flight took place on a dark moonless night over rising terrain. The accident site was located 200 yards east of the power lines. Radar data shows the airplane in the area of the crash site at a steady state heading, airspeed, and level altitude. This flight marked the first time that the pilot did not complete a company flight plan. On his off days, the pilot got 9-11 hrs of sleep. His wife said he was not a morning person. The pilot had commented to her that when away from home, the quality of his sleep was poor. On the day of the accident, the pilot was awake at 0340 for the 0500 departure; he had about 6 hrs of sleep.

Synopsis

On October 16, 1993, at approximately 0631 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna model 207 Stationair airplane, N208SC, registered to and owned and operated by SouthCentral Air, Inc. of Kenai, Alaska, collided with tree covered terrain approximately 34 nautical miles south of Kenai, Alaska. The commercialcertificated pilot, the sole occupant, received fatal injuries and the airplane wasdestroyed. There was no fire and no hazardous cargo was on board the flight. Theflight, a scheduled cargo/mail run conducted under 14 CFR Part 135, departedKenai at about 0613. No flight plan was on file for the flight. Based upon thescheduled time en route, the flight should have arrived in Homer, Alaska at 0700. The accident site is approximately 26 nautical miles north-northwest of Homer.

The National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB's) Northwest Region FieldOffice in Anchorage, Alaska (NWR-A) was notified of the accident by the FederalAviation Administration's (FAA's) Regional Operations Communication Center(ROC) at 0830 on the morning of October 16, 1993. The NTSB investigator-in-charge visited the accident site on the afternoon of the 16th.

The parties to the investigation were the FAA.

History of flight

The pilot-in-command of the accident flight was Daniel Housberg. The pilots wife reported that on the evening of October 15, 1993, she telephoned her husband at approximately 2130 at his apartment in Kenai. She believed that she probably woke him up from the way he sounded when he initially answered the phone. She called just to say hello. She said that they conversed briefly after which she summized that he went back to sleep. She commented that her husband appeared to be in good spirits, that he liked to fly, and that he had never discussed with her any concerns or problems with the airplanes he flew or the company's he flew for.

The pilots flight itinerary for the morning of the 16th called for him to make a scheduled cargo flight from Homer, Alaska to Kenai in N5282U, a Cessna 206. His second flight of the day, the accident flight, was scheduled in N208SC. The schedule required an early morning wake-up and departure from the Homer Airport, the first time he had done so.

At approximately 0340 on the morning of the 16th, a fellow company pilot, Mr. Wesley Ballard, telephoned Mr. Housbergs apartment in Homer. Mr. Ballard stated that Mr. Housberg answered the phone on the second ring and sounded wide awake. The purpose of the call was to inform Mr. Housberg how much cargo weight he could expect for the Homer/Kenai leg and to make sure he flew N5282U so that it could be traded out for N208SC. Their conversation ended with Mr. Housberg asking if N5282U was certified legal for instrument flight to which Mr. Ballard responded that it was.

Mr. Housberg departed Homer in N5282U at approximately 0452. Once airborne, he picked up an instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance to Kenai. His initial assigned en route altitude was 5,000 feet. At 0524, he reported clear of runway 19 at Kenai.

Upon landing in Kenai, Mr. Housberg was assisted by Mr. Ballard in the off loading of cargo from N5282U. Mr. Ballard reported that he observed Mr. Housberg preflight N208SC, ie. shine a flashlight on the plane's tires, drain fuel, and add three quarts of oil to the engine. Mr. Housberg then repositioned N208SC so that the cargo bound for Homer could be placed on board the airplane. Mr. Ballard said that he assisted Mr. Housberg in loading the plane with approximately 530 pounds of mail and about 130 pounds of freight. Mr. Ballard commented that the cargo "about bulked the airplane out but it was loaded well and was not near gross". Mr. Ballard did not know if Mr. Housberg received a weather briefing while he was on the ground in Kenai. Mr. Ballard's final observations of Mr. Housberg were that, "he seemed in good spirits and did not seem tired at all". Just before they parted company, Mr. Housberg commented that he had to get going so he could get the mail to Homer in time for it to get to the post office by 0700.

Mr. Housberg departed Kenai for Homer in N208SC at approximately 0611. No record of the plane's weight and balance was left behind nor was one required to under present 14 CFR Part 135 regulations. The amount of fuel on board was not recorded. The pilot who last flew the airplane on October 15, 1993, reported that the plane had about 3 1/2 hours of fuel on board.

The first and only known intra-cockpit communication with N208SC occurred at about 0614 when Mr. Housberg made a radio call to the Kenai Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) requesting the Homer weather. Mr. Housberg was given the 0550 Kenai surface weather observation (SA) which was: measured ceiling two thousand one hundred broken, two thousand eight hundred broken, visibility one two, temperature four three, dew point three six, wind two three zero at eight, altimeter two niner four eight.

From 06:11:38 to 06:31:16, the Air Route Traffic Control Center Radar Site (ARTCC) at Kenai tracked the 1200 transponder beacon code of N208SC. The radar site is approximately 34 miles south of the accident site. Air traffic personnel reported that the horizontal tolerance of the radar is 1/4 mile up to a distance of 200 miles, the altitude data is recorded to the nearest 100 feet, and the ground speed data is "very accurate". The radar data shows that the ground track of the airplane to be south southeasterly from right to left of V (Victor) Airway 435. V435 is a radial between the Kenai VOR (163 outbound) and the Homer VOR 344 radial (164 inbound). The airway is the shortest distance between Kenai and Homer (55 nautical miles) and is used by SouthCentral to compute the flight time schedule between the two points. The minimum en route altitude (MEA) and minimum obstruction clearance altitude (MOCA) on the airway is 2000 feet for the first 20 nautical miles outbound on the Kenai 163 radial and 4400 feet the last 35 nautical miles on the Homer 344 radial. The accident site intersects the Kenai 157 radial.

During the last 10 minutes of recorded radar data, the altitude of the flight varied from 2,000 to 2,200 feet and the ground speed from 109 knots to 124 knots. The last recorded altitude,heading, and ground speed of the airplane was 2,000 feet at 06:30:40, 172 degrees at 06:31:16, and 118 knots also at 06:31:16. The accident site is approximately 4 1/2 nautical miles east of Victor 435.

At approximately 06:40 on the morning of October 16, 1993, Mr. James Matti heard an airplane flying overhead near his cabin. The plane's engine emitted a steady drone and there were no missing or sputtering sounds. As the sound from the engine began to fade, he heard a loud crashing noise. The sound from the engine stopped altogether and it sounded like there was another crash. He thought about calling 911 but was not sure that an accident had occurred until later in the morning when he observed other airplanes and a helicopter in the air. Mr. Matti said that he lives approximately 1/2 miles west of the high tension power lines that run between Kenai and Homer (officially known as the Soldotna to Fritzcreek to Bradley Lake 115KV transmission lines) and that from what he was told by the Alaska State Troopers, the aircraft crashed approximately 2 to 3 miles from his cabin. The accident site is about 200 yards east of the power lines. When he heard the airplane, the sky in the area around him was clear and he could see the stars.

Damage to aircraft

The airplane sustained extreme structural deformation from shear and crushing forces.

Other damage

The tops, mid span, and trunk surfaces of several trees were severely damaged or destroyed.

Personnel information

The pilot-in-command, Mr, Daniel Housberg, dob May 16, 1957, poss