# NTSB ANC96LA096: Beech 18, N700WA, Fairbanks, AK, July 6, 1996 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 6, 1996, 10:00 local (18:00 UTC) - Place: Fairbanks, AK - Coordinates: 64.810691, -147.720291 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=64.8107&lon=-147.7203&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 5 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 23, 1997 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 2857 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC96LA096 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/2857/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC96LA096 ## Probable cause The malfunction of the propeller control unit on the right engine. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Propeller failure/malfunction, landing - roll - propeller control - malfunction (cause) - propeller control - overload - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - high vegetation - terrain condition - rough/uneven - Complete gear collapsed, landing - roll - landing gear,main gear - overload - landing gear,nose gear - overload ## Analysis During landing on the gravel airstrip, as the pilot placed the propellers into reverse, the airplane began to veer left. He applied right brake and continued to apply more reverse on the right engine. He was unable to control the airplane, and the airplane departed the left side of the airstrip and encountered brush and rough terrain. Examination of the engines revealed that a pin in the right engine propeller control unit, on which the propeller control cam slides, separated. The cockpit propeller control operates the control cam directly. Examination of the fracture surface of the pin disclosed that the pin failed in overload. ## Factual narrative On July 6, 1996, at 1000 Alaska daylight time, a retractable gear, wheel equipped Beech 18 Volpar airplane, N700WA, registered to Kalitta flying Service of Lakeview, Oregon, and operated by F.S. Air Service of Anchorage, Alaska, ran off the left side of the runway during the landing roll at Van Curler's mining airstrip, located 60 miles from the Fairbanks VOR on the 050 degree radial. The air taxi flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 135, departed Anchorage and the destination was the mining airstrip. A company visual rules flight plan was in effect and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The certificated airline transport pilot and the four passengers were not injured. The airplane received substantial damage. During a telephone conversation with the pilot on July 9, 1996, he stated he landed on the runway using an airspeed of 90 to 100 knots. As soon as the main wheels touched down he applied reverse thrust. The airplane began to veer left and he applied more reverse thrust on the right engine and applied more right brake. The airplane continued to veer left and departed the left side of the runway approximately 1,200 feet beyond the touchdown point. As the airplane departed the left side of the runway, the pilot stated he applied power to the left engine but could not tell if the engine responded because the airplane entered the brush and rough terrain. The airplane's main and nose landing gear collapsed rearward after striking the brush and rough terrain. The engines were removed and shipped to Dominion Propeller in Anchorage, Alaska. The right engine's propeller was disassembled and no mechanical problems were found. The propeller control linkages on the left and right engine were exercised. The left engine's propeller control would move into the feather detent. The right engine's propeller control would stop moving prior to going into the feather detent. The "Beta" tube, the tube that the propeller control collar slides along to port and unport oil to the propeller hub, was removed from the front of the engine and a small piece of metal was seen protruding from one of the oil ports. The piece of metal could not be retrieved from the "Beta" tube. The right engine's propeller control unit was removed and disassembled at F.S. Air Service's maintenance facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Inside the control unit, the propeller pitch control pin was found separated from the pitch control arm/collar. The separated pin was not found inside the propeller control unit. The propeller control unit has only one exit point for the oil circulating through the unit. The opening was large enough to allow the separated pin to pass through. The exit point opens into the engine's nose gear case. The separated pin was not located. The function of the pin was to allow a cam to slide along the pin and position the propeller pitch control collar at various points along the "Beta" tube, thereby controlling the propeller's pitch. With the pin separated, the cam would not be able to move the pitch control collar as designed to control the propeller's pitch. The propeller pitch control unit was submitted by F.S. Air Service to Allied Signal Aerospace, the manufacturer of the airplane's engines, for metallurgical examination. The fracture surface was found to be consistent with bending overload fracture. The material was examined and found to be manufactured with the proper alloy. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N700WA](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N700WA-1999-11-30), registration cancelled 1999-11-30, S/N BA-28 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Beech 18 - Registry model: [Beech E18S](https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-e18s) (registry code 1151006) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: BA28 - Airframe hours: 11128 - Engines: Garrett TPE-331-1-101 665 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Operator: Fs Air Service - Registered owner: Kalitta Flying Service Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: AAIP, June 12, 1996, 42 hours before - Departed: ANC, ANCHORAGE, AK - Destination: FAIRBANKS, AK - Flight plan: Company VFR - Airport: Van Curler'S Bar ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 45; commercial, airline transport, flight engineer; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, multi-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: helicopter, airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 20,000 total, 1,000 in this make and model, 13,000 as pilot in command, 250 in the last 90 days, 95 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 99 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 64 °F ## 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 19960706016249A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960706016249A), Jul 6, 1996: Beech E18S, Fairbanks, AK, Substantial damage. Departed side gravel strip landing. Used reverse thrust. No avail. Folded gear. Right prop pitch control pin broke. 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.