- Date
- February 5, 2012, 12:20 local (19:20 UTC)
- Place
- Yellow Pine, ID
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4894XRockwell International S-2R
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 2, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Boise FSDO
- FAA report
- 20120205002089A
- Case key
- 82893
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot did not reduce the airplane’s descent rate prior to the landing flare/touchdown, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
During the landing at a remote snow-covered airstrip, the airplane touched down at a high descent rate, bounced back into the air, and then touched down again on the packed snow surface. As the airplane slowed and its weight transferred from the wings to the landing gear, one main landing gear attach fitting, which had been damaged during the initial hard touchdown, allowed its associated gear leg to partially collapse. The partial collapse of the landing gear resulted in the airplane veering to the right, whereupon the right wing impacted the snow bank along the side of the runway and sustained substantial damage.
Factual narrative
While landing at a remote snow-covered airstrip with about 350 gallons of fluid in the airplane's hopper, the pilot touched down at too great of a descent rate. The airplane bounced back into the air, and then touched down again on the packed snow surface. As the airplane began to slow and the airplane's weight began to be transferred from the wings to the landing gear, one main landing gear attach fitting, which had been damaged during the initial hard touchdown, allowed its associated gear leg to partially collapse. The partial collapse of the landing gear resulted in the airplane veering to the right, whereupon the right wing impacted the snow bank along the side of the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4894X
- Reported as
- Rockwell International S-2R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2079R
- Airframe hours
- 10,205
- Engine
- Honeywell TPE 331-10, 900 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Valley Air, LLC.
- Registered owner
- Valley Air Service Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 7, 2012
- Departed
- U70 · Cascade, ID
- Destination
- ID41 · Yellow Pine, ID
- Airport
- ID41 · Stibnite Mine, runway 24, 2,450 × 175 ft, snow
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
- 35
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 5, 2011
- Flight hours
- 4,731 total · 1,520 in this make and model · 19 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 1, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 452 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4894X · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.