ANC98LA047

The pilot and witnesses described the airplane touching down with a 20 knot tailwind on the last 25 percent of the approximately 600 feet long, packed snow, landing area. The pilot said that on short final he recognized the tailwind, but because of terrain there was not maneuvering room to attempt a go around. The airplane bounced, and overran the landing area. The pilot said he lost forward visibility in whiteout conditions, and intentionally ground looped the airplane to stop.

On May 16, 1998, at 1550 Alaska daylight time, a wheel/ski equipped Cessna A185F, N1473F, sustained substantial damage during landing on the Kahiltna Glacier, 47 miles west-northwest of Talkeetna, Alaska. The commercial pilot and two passengers were not injured. The remaining passenger sustained minor injuries. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 135 as an on-demand air taxi, transporting three mountain climbers to the 7,200 feet msl seasonal base camp for Mount McKinley. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a VFR flight plan was filed.

The passengers stated during an interview with the NTSB Investigator-In-Charge (IIC) that a broken fog layer was located on the approach end of the landing area. The passengers indicated the airplane touched down beyond the fog bank, bounced twice, banked left, and the left wing contacted the snow. A private pilot witness estimated there was a 20 knot tailwind. He described the airplane making a fast, steep approach, and touching down beyond the spot where other airplanes were landing. He said the airplane bounced twice, and then dragged the left wing.

The pilot told the NTSB IIC in an interview and wrote in his Pilot/Operator Report that he was landing over a fog layer, and that on final approach at 300 feet agl, he recognized there was an upslope tailwind. He stated there was not sufficient room to do a go around, and that he was committed to land.

The pilot described touching down on the last 25% of the prepared landing area, bouncing into the air, and experiencing a whiteout condition when looking into the combination of clouds and snow. Unsure of what was in front of the airplane, he intentionally applied full left rudder and aileron to ground loop the airplane and stop. The airplane came to rest about 300 feet beyond the end of the packed down area, in deep snow.

The landing area consists of about 300 feet of soft snow where pilots attempt to touch down and decelerate, and 300 feet of packed snow which is used for stopping and taxiing.