- Date
- June 17, 1988, 10:36 local (20:36 UTC)
- Place
- Tau, Antarctica
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 15 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N202RHde Havilland DHC-6-100
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880617071009A
- Case key
- 26037
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 captain, who was flying the twin otter from the right seat, entered a right hand traffic pattern for landing. A left quartering, 15 knot headwind, was gusting across the airport. Upon turning to the final approach the captain reduced the aircraft's engine power to the low speed range for the visual approach. As the aircraft neared the runway the rate of descent accelerated. The captain's application of full engine power failed to arrest the aircraft's rate of descent and the aircraft impacted the ground short of the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N202RH
- Reported as
- de Havilland DHC-6-100
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 68
- Airframe hours
- 18,403
- Engine
- P&W PT6A-20, 579 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Somoa Aviation
- Registered owner
- Jack Wall Acft Sales, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- PPG · Pago Pago, OF
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- H136 · Tau, runway 17, 2,200 × ft, gravel
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
- 51
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 19,455 total · 3,393 in this make and model · 14,724 as pilot in command · 305 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 15 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.