# NTSB WPR10CA077: Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2B-26, N27BN, Pago Pago, Antarctica, November 30, 2009 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: November 30, 2009, 22:00 local (22:00 UTC) - Place: Pago Pago, Antarctica - Coordinates: -14.331666, -170.711395 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=-14.3317&lon=-170.7114&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 23, 2010 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 75153 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR10CA077 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/75153/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=75153 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR10CA077 ## Probable cause The pilot's action to maneuver the airplane to avoid a collision with a flock of birds while on final approach, resulting in a hard landing. Contributing to the accident were the birds. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Object/animal/substance: animal(s)/bird(s)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022045): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Response/compensation (probable cause); cases with it: [Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2B-26, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022045/cases.md?model=7090229), [All aircraft, 358 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022045/cases.md) - [Action](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041000): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2B-26, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041000/cases.md?model=7090229), [All aircraft, 111 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) (defining event); cases with it: [Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2B-26, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=7090229), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that he was performing a maintenance test flight at an airport located right on the water's edge, on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The pilot stated that as he began the landing flare, several birds flew in front of his windscreen. To avoid hitting the birds, the pilot maneuvered the airplane to the left. The airplane subsequently landed hard on the left main landing gear, just left of the runway centerline. The pilot reported that after touchdown, to avoid running off the runway, he applied right braking action, which resulted in the airplane turning violently to the right and coming to a stop with the nose between 20-30 degrees from runway centerline. Postaccident inspection of the airplane found that the left wing was wrinkled and structurally damaged. ## Factual narrative The pilot reported that he was performing a maintenance test flight at an airport located right on the water's edge, on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The pilot stated that as he began the landing flare, several birds flew in front of his windscreen. To avoid hitting the birds, the pilot maneuvered the airplane to the left. The airplane subsequently landed hard on the left main landing gear, just left of the runway centerline. The pilot reported that after touchdown, to avoid running off the runway, he applied right braking action, which resulted in the airplane turning violently to the right and coming to a stop with the nose between 20-30 degrees from runway centerline. Postaccident inspection of the airplane found that the left wing was wrinkled and structurally damaged. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N27BN](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N27BN-2013-07-16), registration cancelled 2013-07-16, S/N 2220, built 1990 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PILATUS BRITTEN-NORMAN BN-2B-26 - Registry model: [Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2B-26](https://openairdocs.org/model/pilatus-britten-norman-bn-2b-26) (registry code 7090229) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (registry code 41532, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 2220 - Airframe hours: 8216 - Engines: LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES 250 horsepower reciprocating; LYCOMING O-540 SERIES 250 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Flight test, Part 91 - Operator: Inter Island Airways, Inc., doing business as Inter Island Airways - Registered owner: Samoa Technologies Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, October 6, 2009 - Departed: PPG, Pago Pago, PO - Destination: PPG, Pago Pago, PO - Flight plan: Unknown - Airport: PPG, Tafuna/Pago Pago International, runway 26, 3,800 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 51; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review June 10, 2009; seat: left; flight hours: 4,400 total, 1,100 in this make and model, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 30° at 11 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 86 °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 20091130052809A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20091130052809A), Nov 30, 2009: Pilatus Bri BN-2B-26, Pago Pago, AS, Substantial damage. On November 30, 2009, at 0000 gmt, a britten-norman BN-2B-26 airplane, N27BN, sustained substantial damage to the right wing assembly when the aircraft… ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 4, 2010, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=75153. 520 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 520 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40323526&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF 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.