ANC94FA080

History of flight

On July 11, 1994, at 1240 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-32 Saratoga, N8297X, registered to and operated by Peninsula Airways, Inc., of Anchorage, Alaska, crashed after takeoff from Portage Creek, Alaska, which is located approximately 20 miles west of Dillingham, Alaska. The air taxi flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 135, was departing Portage Creek on a company visual rules flight plan and the destination was Dillingham. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot and one passenger were seriously injured and 3 passengers received fatal injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged.

Witnesses

According to John Alto, the fishing guide for the passengers, the weather at Portage Creek had been rainy, heavy at times, for the previous 4 to 5 days. He stated there was a slight easterly wind when the airplane arrived. Another witness, Chris Carr, stated the wind was from the west.

Mr. Alto stated the following: "The airplane arrived at 12:10 p.m., circling around and then landing on the North-South runway with the plane heading south. Chris Carr of Portage Creek arrived at this time with a cooler bound for Dillingham to see if there was room to fit it on. Luggage from our party was as follows: 3 fish boxes weighing 65-70 pounds apiece, 2 coolers containing fish, also weighing 65-70 pounds apiece, 4 duffel bags containing laundry weighing 25-35 pounds apiece. Then there were the belongings of Ray and Kent which was 3 or 4 duffel bags weighing 30-50 pounds apiece. The cooler that Chris Carr placed on the plane weighed in excess of 100 pounds. After re-arranging the gear loaded into the rear of the plane a couple of different times to make it all fit the cargo door was closed. While the pilot was loading the rear of the plane, he had me place two fish boxes in the nose compartment, and when he discovered that all of the gear would not fit he placed 1 duffel bag and a small carry on in the nose with the fish boxes, it was an extremely tight fit, as it took two people pushing on one of the fish boxes to get it in."

Mr. Alto stated that the passengers were loaded and the pilot instructed the passengers where to sit. In his witness statement he commented, "I have never seen a plane packed so tightly with people and gear-I remember commenting just before they closed the door they looked packed like cord wood."

Mr. Alto stated he saw the airplane taxi out onto the east- west runway. He stated he has seldom seen any airplanes use that runway. He heard the engine "rev up" and watched the airplane attempt to take off. The acceleration was very slow. The wheels of the airplane were still on the ground when the tail of the airplane disappeared from his sight. He did not see the airplane emerge and seconds later he heard a loud "whoom!"

Injuries to person

The pilot and one passenger were seriously injured and three passengers received fatal injuries.

Damage to aircraft

The airplane was substantially damaged in the accident. The main fuselage of the airplane was resting upright. The engine, with the instrument panel attached to the firewall, was torn away from the main fuselage and was resting to the left side of the airplane. The left wing was torn away from the fuselage and located behind the airplane in the wreckage path. The right wing remained partially attached with the leading edge pointed downward at approximately a 45 degree angle. The vertical fin, rudder, and horizontal stabilizer were unremarkable. Both main landing gear remained attached to their respective wing attach points. The nose gear was sheared off.

Personnel information

The 28 year old pilot is the holder of an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, number 525395086, with an airplane multi engine land rating. He holds commercial privileges for airplane single engine land. He has a flight instructor certificate for airplane single and multi engine and instrument airplane ratings and a advanced and instrument ground instructor ratings.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration the pilot was issued a first class medical certificate dated September 28, 1993 which required that he wear corrective lenses.

According to the information provided by the company on the NTSB form 6120.1/2, the pilot had a total time of 5700 hours with 780 hours in the PA-32.

According to the Director of Operations, the pilot had been flying as a first officer on the Metro airplane in scheduled service. The company policy is to send pilots, who are going to be upgraded to captain, to the "bush" to fly single pilot 14 CFR Part 135 air taxi work in single engine airplanes. The pilot was being considered for upgrade to captain on the Metro and had been in the "bush" flying the same airplane for approximately 6 months.

Meteorological information

The nearest weather observation facility is Dillingham, Alaska, located approximately 20 miles east of Portage Creek. The Dillingham record observation taken at 1147 Alaska daylight time, showed the ceiling to be estimated at 500 feet, visibility 2 1/2 miles with light rain and fog, temperature 53 degrees Fahrenheit, dewpoint 52 degrees Fahrenheit, the winds from 060 degrees at 5 knots, and the altimeter was 30.10 inches of mercury.

Aerodrome information

Portage Creek Airport is located approximately 20 miles West of Dillingham, Alaska. The airport identifier is AK14. The airport has two runways which align with 18-36 and 09-27. The longest runway is listed as 1900 feet and the surface is composed of gravel. The airport remarks section states that the airport is unattended and that runway conditions are not monitored, "...recommend visual inspection prior to use. RWY edges marked by orange cones with white reflectors. RWY thlds marked by orange cones with green reflectors."

Examination of the airport showed that the runway surface was composed of river gravel, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in size, and dirt. Walking on the surface caused the gravel to shift and roll from under the feet. Runway 09, the runway from which the take off was attempted, was found to be approximately 60 feet wide and 1920 feet long. The runway was found to have an upslope of 2 degrees. The departure end of runway 09 ended with the terrain dropping away at a 30 degree angle to an elevation approximately 100 feet below the end of the runway. The departure end of the runway was located 191 feet from the edge of the drop off and was clearly marked with green banded orange cones.

The runway surface at the departure end of runway 09 was marked by deep tire grooves that were made by the rescue airplanes. According to Larry Tibets of Penair, and Chris Carr of Penair, the airplanes that parked at the departure end of the runway during the rescue, sank into the gravel and had to be pushed out by hand.

The tracks on the runway were examined and a set of tire tracks were located that matched the take off description provided by the witnesses. The tire tracks start at the intersection of the two runways and continue to a point 261 feet short of the marked runway threshold.

Wreckage and impact information

The airplane was located 1/4 mile off the departure end of runway 09 on a magnetic bearing of 060 degrees. The descent angle from the drop off after the end of the runway was 8 degrees. The main airplane wreckage was resting on a 032 degree heading.

The terrain in the area was covered with muskeg, tundra and pools of water. The terrain under the muskeg and tundra was hard gravel. This was determined by examining the impact crater. The crater was approximately 3 feet deep. The crater was located 20 feet behind the airplane and was aligned with the wreckage path of 032 degrees.

All the flight control surfaces of the airplane were located at the accid