ASN Aircraft accident Cessna 208B Grand Caravan N12373 Saint Mary's Airport, AK (KSM)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Friday 29 November 2013
Time:18:24
Type:Silhouette image of generic C208 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
Operator:Era Alaska
Registration: N12373
MSN: 208B0697
First flight: 1998
Total airframe hrs:12653
Engines: 1 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A
Crew:Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Passengers:Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 9
Total:Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 10
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:1,6 km (1 mls) SE of Saint Mary's Airport, AK (KSM) (   United States of America)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Bethel Airport, AK (BET/PABE), United States of America
Destination airport:Saint Mary's Airport, AK (KSM/PASM), United States of America
Flightnumber:1453
Narrative:
A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan operated by Era Alaska crashed near Saint Mary's Airport, Alaska. The pilot and three passengers were killed in the accident. Six passengers sustained serious injuries.
The airplane operated flight 7H-1453 from Bethel were it took off at 17:41. The flight was planned to make an intermediate stop at Mountain Village, but did not land there due to deteriorating weather. Night, instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed at the St. Mary's airport at the time of the accident.
The airplane was seen to overfly the airport at low altitude. Shortly afterwards the flight impacted an open area of snow-covered tundra.

About 8 minutes before the accident, at 18:16, a weather report indicated: Wind, 230 degrees at 7 knots; visibility, 3 statute miles; overcast at 300 feet above ground level; temperature, 18 degrees F (-7,8 degrees C); altimeter, 30.01 inches Hg.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot's decision to initiate a visual flight rules approach into an area of instrument meteorological conditions at night and the flight coordinators' release of the flight without discussing the risks with the pilot, which resulted in the pilot experiencing a loss of situational awareness and subsequent controlled flight into terrain. Contributing to the accident were the operator's inadequate procedures for operational control and flight release and its inadequate training and oversight of operational control personnel. Also contributing to the accident was the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to hold the operator accountable for correcting known operational deficiencies and ensuring compliance with its operational control procedures."

Accident investigation:

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Investigating agency: NTSB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 2 years and 3 months
Accident number: ANC14MA008
Download report: Summary report

Classification:
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Ground

Sources:
» ADN.com
» KTUU
» NTSB


Photos

photo of Cessna-208B-Grand-Caravan-N12373
accident date: 29-11-2013
type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
registration: N12373
photo of Cessna-208B-Grand-Caravan-N12373
accident date: 29-11-2013
type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
registration: N12373
photo of Cessna-208B-Grand-Caravan-N12373
accident date: 29-11-2013
type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
registration: N12373
photo of Cessna-208B-Grand-Caravan-N12373
accident date: 29-11-2013
type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
registration: N12373
photo of Cessna-208B-Grand-Caravan-N12373
accident date: 29-11-2013
type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
registration: N12373
photo of Cessna-208B-Grand-Caravan-N12373
Seat map Cessna 208B Grand Caravan N12373
 

Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Bethel Airport, AK to Saint Mary's Airport, AK as the crow flies is 161 km (101 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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